


you could be anything out there (butterflies flying in the air)

by centrykleary



Category: Atypical (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, enjoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-01-29 01:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21401797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/centrykleary/pseuds/centrykleary
Summary: Just a collection of Cazzie one-shots that I write because Atypical made me so emotional.Title is taken from Butterfly - Grimes
Relationships: Casey Gardner/Izzie
Comments: 73
Kudos: 640





	1. sweater

“Where the hell is it?”

Casey rummages through her closet, pushing aside hung clothes aggressively as she searches for a specific sweater; Clayton is having their first free dress of the year. She opens the drawers of her cabinet and swiftly looks underneath the already messy pile of wrinkly shirts that were never folded and to no avail, her sweater is nowhere to be found.

“Why are you being so aggressive at your clothes?”

The junior looks towards Sam and quickly refocuses on her closet, the sound of hangers slamming against one another as she goes through her clothes once mofe. “I can’t find my stupid red sweater!”

“Well, maybe mom washed it. And if it’s so stupid then why do you want to look for it? That’s counterproductive.”

The corner of Casey’s mouth slightly perks up as she slings her backpack over her shoulder. “Oh whatever, see ya later Sam.”

The brunette runs downstairs and enters the kitchen, sliding into her seat at the small circular dining table. Looking at the time, she pulls her phone out and immediately smiles at the string of texts from Izzie the other night; Casey fell asleep too quickly after an extra long track practice.

  


_newtonnnnn_

_caseyyyyyyy_

_damn looks like you fell asleep_

_and it’s only 10._

_looks like coach is pushing you extra hard_

_well ill let you sleep_

_sweet dreams newton <3_

The brunette rolls her eyes playfully at the messages, deciding not to reply as she knows Izzie may be busy helping her siblings prepare for school. Casey takes another peek at the time, she has five minutes to spare and the first thing she sees is Elsa spraying the succulents. The junior stands up and walks over to the sunroom, admiring the plants.

“Wow Elsa, these are looking unbe-leaf-able.” Casey teases, a wide grin spreading across her face at her pun. Elsa lets out a small laugh and continues spraying the plants.

“Very funny Casey… don’t you have to get to school?”

The brunette walks around the sunroom, ignoring the scorched mark on the floor from the burnt air mattress. “Well I got 5 minutes to spare and I figured… why not bother Elsa?” Casey looks at the clock once more. “And now you shall be free of my delightful company. See ya later!”

Elsa waves goodbye to her daughter as she continues to spray the plants, making sure they’re all healthy and growing well. Meanwhile, Casey slides into her car and turns the engine, backing out of the driveway; she still finds it remarkable that she has her very own car. The brunette drives her way to school, navigating through the GPS map on her phone that is attached to a little magnetic clip - it was a gift from Sam. As she continues driving, she notices her notifications go off, Casey’s face immediately turns red as she notices who the texts are from. She decides to respond later, not wanting to crash her car by responding to a text from her girlfriend.

-

She pulls into the student parking, making sure to place the pass in the corner of her windshield so the school identifies the car as a student one. In an instant, she grabs her phone and looks through the short string of texts from Izzie once more.

_are you at school yettttt_

_youre probably driving_

_ill be in the lounge if you need me !_

Casey smiles as she exits her car, responding to the text. _ur favorite has finally arrived_

_stay in the lounge, im coming_

The brunette makes her way towards the main entrance of the school, occasionally waving at her fellow track teammates along with trying to keep herself warm; she really needed that sweater. Her phone vibrates once more as Casey makes a quick stop at her locker, grabbing her materials for 1st period.

_goddd for someone who got scouted you move very slowly :P_

She slams her locker shut and quickly speeds her pace up, making her way to the student lounge. As she approaches the door, she can already see the back view of Izzie’s head through the glass of the door, Casey couldn’t help but smile. She opens the door and cautiously approaches from behind and once she got close enough, Casey quickly threw her arms around Izzie.

“Jesus Christ Casey!” Izzie exclaims, turning her head to meet Casey’s and placing a quick kiss on her lips

The brunette jumps over the couch, sitting right next to Izzie and immediately noticed what she’s wearing - her red sweater. She notices how oversized it appears to be on Izzie… she could feel her stomach doing a series of backflips. The sweater drapes over Izzie very loosely and the brunette couldn’t help but smile so excitedly. Casey’s mouth slightly gapes as she stares at her girlfriend, knowing well that she probably looks like a tomato. Izzie’s eyebrows furrow before realizing why Casey was so speechless.

“Oh… yeah.” She quickly glances down at herself, pulling the sleeves up more to cover her hands. “I may have or may not taken this when I came over a few nights to study…”

Casey could feel her heart going hundred of miles an hour, she couldn’t utter a single word.

“Newton… you alright?”

The short-haired girl quickly clears her throat and moves closer into Izzie. “Yeah! I- um, you just… you.” Casey readjusts herself to face Izzie. “You just, uh, look really cute… and stuff.”

Izzie blushes as she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, a smile washing over her face. “Why thank you… you clearly have a way of words.”

The brunette rolls her eyes as she wraps her arm around Izzie who places her head on Casey’s shoulder. “I know I do…” There’s a moment of silence with the couple sitting there on the couch, enjoying a moment of peace. No other worries in the world, no other distractions, it’s just them together. “It’s also kind of cold sooo, maybe I could-

"Nope. No way, this is legally mine now.”

The brunette laughs as she slightly pulls away, still holding onto Izzie. “You’re lucky you’re that adorable.”

Casey leans in and presses her lips onto Izzie’s, immediately feeling the warmth of her girlfriend’s hands cupping her face so gently.

They pull away slowly and press their foreheads together, smiling at each other, completely enamored in each other’s presence.

The couple begins to talk about their morning as people start to pile into the student lounge, ignoring the glances they received due to their PDA.

Casey should probably lend Izzie her sweaters more often.


	2. tie

A sound of a phone chiming repetitively echoes throughout the Gardner house. Well, mainly echoing between Sam’s room and Casey’s. The short-haired girl lets out a groan, folding her pillow to cover her exposed ear as she tries to ignore the blaring alarm. After a couple of seconds, the alarm is shut off and a sound of feet stumbling and staggering follows quickly. Casey shoots up from her bed when she hears the sound of what seemed like Sam falling; she swiftly moves her blanket aside and rushes towards Sam’s room.

“Hey! Are you okay? What was all that noise?”

Her brother is preoccupied with putting on his Denton hoodie as he quickly passes by Casey, exiting the door. Wanting an answer, the brunette follows Sam down the stairs and into the kitchen. “I have another Socratic Seminar today and Excited Evelyn - that’s not her actual name, it’s just Evelyn - said she’ll help me get a B on this one, compared to the last one where I got a C. I have to meet her in the quad by 7:30 A.M sharp so I’m leaving early.”

The university student grabs his toast and hash brown, neatly wrapping it in a napkin. He quickly makes way to the main door as Casey frantically follows. “Wait! Who’s gonna tie my tie?”

Instead of an answer, Sam exits the house and slams the door shut, leaving Casey standing in the foyer alone in her pajamas. The brunette lets out an exasperated sigh, marching up the stairs towards Elsa’s room. She opens the door and immediately sat on the bed that Elsa is trying to make.

“Hey, move over, I’m trying to fix the sheets.” 

Casey ignores Elsa’s statement. “Is dad here? Sam left and he’s usually the one to tie my tie.”

“Oh, sorry honey he had to leave early, he and his support group have a presentation about the whole ‘How to Deal with an Autistic Patient as an EMT’ up north.” The brunette ignores the bitter tone from her mother as it clearly shows a sign of envy.

“Damnit!” Casey quickly exits the room and goes into her own, opening her closet to put the Clayton uniform on. 

The brunette wishes Clayton didn’t have a uniform, she always enjoyed how Newton didn’t really enforce a dress code… or even a uniform! She hates the constricted feeling of her collared shirt that it creates and the annoying tie that comes along with it. Granted the tie isn’t typically mandatory but after one complement of Izzie calling her adorable in the tie, Casey refuses to never wear it. She slips on her blazer and throws the necktie onto her bed, leaving that for last. Once Casey got her shoes on, she stared so menacingly at the tie, narrowing her eyes. 

With a grumble, she flips her collar upward and wraps the necktie around her neck, standing in front of the mirror; it felt like her first day before Clayton all over again. Unfortunately, Sam isn’t here to help her out this time. Even after dozens of Youtube tutorials, a couple of tips from Sam and her dad, Casey still can’t figure out the puzzle that comes with tying a tie. She adjusts the lengths of the tie, pulling one end up and the other down. Casey then pulls the longer end in front of the shorter and loops it through the hole. She tightens it and assumes she couldn’t do a better job than what she just did. The brunette leans down and picks her backpack up and makes her way downstairs, ignoring the state of confusion from Elsa.

“Sweetie that’s no-

“Eh, I’ll make it work. See you!”

Casey leaves the house and starts her car. She quickly places her phone onto the magnetic clip and sends her usual text. 

on my way to school now, see you there

And of course, the immediate response that comes from her lovely girlfriend. last one there is a rotten egg!

The brunette laughs at the text and pulls out of the driveway, excited to see her girlfriend.

-

Maybe Casey can’t work the poorly-done tie as proven by many stares she endured from fellow peers when exiting the student parking lot. She saw people scrunch their face up and raise their eyebrows in surprise along with a couple of whispers here and there. The brunette crosses her arms in front of her chest and speeds her pace up into the school wanting to avoid the public and the large breeze of cool wind brushing against her legs. 

Casey rushes over to her locker and places her bag down, rummaging through her belongings, to sort out her materials for the day. A few minutes later, she feels arms wrap around her waist and a little head propped on her shoulder. The brunette smiles and shuts her locker, turning around in the hug and seeing a soft smile that makes Casey’s knees go weak. 

“Hey there,” Casey says, pulling in Izzie for a hug, planting a kiss on her head. The two pull away and Izzie’s smile immediately turns into a frown when she notices something odd about Casey’s uniform.

“Newton, who taught you how to tie a tie?” Izzie laughs as she takes ahold of the tie. Casey turns red as she rubs the back of her neck

“Well, Sam usually does it for me… or my dad. I never really learned.”

The smaller of the two lets out a soft chuckle as she unravels the tie from Casey’s polo, propping her girlfriend’s collar up and wrapping it around her neck once more. “I guess I’ll do it this morning.”

Izzie repeats the steps taken from Casey earlier this morning but rather than stopping after looping the bigger tie through the hole, she wraps the bigger tie around near the top of the tail and looping it yet again through the hole. Izzie tucks the larger tie into the little pocket that she made for it and tighten it just enough for Casey to not feel like she’s choking. Meanwhile, the brunette’s face is completely covered with shades of red and pink, along with her mouth curving into a small smile.

“There we go… all fixed.”

“Who taught you how to tie it?” Izzie picks her girlfriend’s backpack up for her as the two proceed to walk to the student lounge where they usually spend their mornings at. Casey slips her hand into Izzie’s, immediately feeling a sense of relief wash over herself.

“I help my brothers with picture days and I just slowly learned.”

Casey’s smile grows bigger. “That’s sweet of you.”

“I know.”

The two enter the student lounge and sit on the couch; Izzie gently tugs Casey in by the tie she had just made and plants a soft kiss on her lips.

Maybe Izzie should stop by in the mornings to tie Casey’s tie… anything for an excuse to see her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on Tumblr @charmingcentry


	3. ill stay 'til you come down

Casey sat on her bed, tapping a pen against the edge of her mathematics notebook. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of her phone, as she is anticipating a message from Izzie around 5 P.M; it is currently 4:15 and Casey has been attempting to focus on her homework that she doesn’t quite understand. After looking from her textbook and phone back and forth, she suddenly comes up with probably the most genius idea she’s ever made - well, other than deciding to kiss Izzie that night on the track field. With a smile on her face, Casey goes through her contacts and selects Izzie’s, pressing the video call option next to her name. The brunette adjusts her hair and sets her phone against a school binder. Her phone stops dialing and Izzie appears on her screen.

“Hey, you~” Izzie greets as she plugs her earbuds into her ear and shuts the door behind her. The tone of Izzie’s voice and the smile that came along with her greeting made Casey’s stomach drop so intensely.

“Hi there…” The brunette shows her math homework to the camera on her phone for Izzie to see. “How the hell do you do this shit?”

Izzie lets out a soft laugh and grabs her own paper and pencil. “Alright, well, you start off by…”

Izzie’s explanation begins to drown out in Casey’s mind as the brunette begins to primarily focus on her girlfriend and how pretty she looks. The shorter of the two clearly are already dressed up for their date at the movies later. Casey notices how her hair appears to be curlier than usual and her “special-occasion earrings” as Izzie likes to call it. She’s wearing her white sweater from the party where the two got so lost in each other’s presence as they danced. The brunette couldn’t help but just stare in awe at her girlfriend, still in wonder how she got the girl she has been pining over. Casey adores how Izzie tends to have her hair tucked behind her ear, how adorable her smile is, and how excited and happy Izzie makes her feel.

“Did you get all that?”

The brunette immediately snaps out of her trance. “I, uh, totally!”

Izzie raises an eyebrow. “Oh really? What did I just say then?”

Casey notices her girlfriend’s paper is visible to the far right of the screen; her eyes immediately directed towards there. “You said something about power rule and-

Izzie notices where her eyes are pointing and slowly slides the paper out of frame. “Hey!”

They both begin to laugh and Izzie slides the paper back into Casey’s view. “Well… are you excited for later Newton?”

“Maybe, you know I’m excited about the food… the mall, I think the movie too.” Casey teases, trying to fight back a smile. “…and of course, I’m excited to see you the most.”

Izzie gently tugs at her bottom lip, blushing seemingly spreading across her face. “You’re so dumb, Newton…”

“Oh, you love it.” The brunette glances toward her mirror and notices that she’s still in her Clayton uniform from earlier. She springs up from her bed and leaves her phone facing up toward the ceiling.

“Uh, Case you alright there?” Izzie only heard hangers slamming in the distant as a response. “I guess someone is dressing up last minute…”

The brunette smirks as she goes through two of her flannels, determining what would go well with Izzie’s outfit. “Pffft, what, I’m not doing that.” She goes with a black and white checkered one and slips off her Clayton uniform. 

“I can hear your hangers clattering in the background… and I just saw your tie fly across the room.”

Casey completes her outfit by slipping on her pants and fixing her hair a tiny bit. “It wanted to take a 5-minute break y'know?”

The brunette collapses back onto the bed, catching her breath. Izzie lets out a laugh as Casey motions her hand up and down her body, gesturing towards her last-minute outfit. “Not so bad right?”

“Eh, 7/10,” Izzie replies, knowing damn well her girlfriend looks amazing. “By the way, you never told me what movie we were gonna watch.”

“Oh! Uh, Paige recommended it to me actually. It’s like a remake of a popular fairy tale… hopefully, you won’t fall asleep during it.”

Izzie rolls her eyes. “Hey, I only fall asleep during movies when I watch it at home or with you… in theaters, I tend to do the bobbing head thing.”

“I’ll make sure you’ll stay awake somehow. I mea-

From Izzie’s end of the call, a door slams shut loudly. Izzie yells for her mother but no response was heard. The black-haired girl immediately shoots her head toward the entrance of the room she was in and rushes out, Izzie’s end of the call sounding windy as she runs towards the door that was slammed loudly. Casey’s face immediately drops into a look of concern for Izzie, hoping that everything is alright.

“Iz, what’s going o-

Casey is interrupted by Izzie immediately ending the call; the brunette’s stomach immediately drops and she rushes out of her bedroom towards the dining room, shoving her phone into the pocket of her pants. She storms down the stairs and frantically looks for Elsa who contains Casey’s car keys whenever her daughter isn’t using the car. The brunette finds her mother in the kitchen, mixing a bowl of batter for what seems to be tonight’s dessert along with an open pizza box. 

“Elsa, I need the car keys. I was in a call with Izzie and it ended with a door slamming and she hung up abruptly and we were supposed to go on a da- hang out later but I need to check on her.”

Her mother’s eyebrow immediately furrow and her mouth drop into a frown. She immediately places down her bowl and wipes her hands against a towel. “Oh uh, the car keys are in my purse on the table.” 

Casey immediately rushes over to her purse and makes way for the door. “Wait!”

The brunette lets out a groan and turns back around, only to be met with a pizza box being shoved into her chest by Elsa. “Take it for Izzie and her siblings…”

Casey smiles slightly and says goodbye to Elsa. She quickly exits out of her house and rushes into the car, intensely hoping that everything is alright with Izzie and her family and knowing how her mother behaves sometimes… Casey couldn’t help but think negatively. 

-

The brunette knocks on the door, holding the pizza box in one hand. She rapidly taps her foot against the ground, her heart rate rising with every second when the door isn’t unlocked. Casey looks around the small space she’s standing in, anticipating for the door to be unlocked by Izzie or her little siblings. After a few seconds that felt like excruciating hours, she hears footsteps approach the door and her heart rate begins to level out. The door is opened and Casey is greeted by a puffy red-face Izzie, the brunette nearly dropped the pizza box from wanting to enclose her girlfriend in a hug.

“I’m sorry I- my mom just… you know how she is.” Izzie dejectedly answers, wiping her face with the sleeves of her sweater. The black-haired girl notices the pizza box and Casey hears her exhale out of her nose. “Thanks… you didn’t really have to.”

“Anything for you Izzie,” Casey says, slowly entering her girlfriend’s home and placing down the pizza box on a nearby table; she notices the toys scattered around the floor of the small living room. 

“I’m sorry, I know we were supposed to go on a date… you don’t gotta stay.”

Casey, without missing a beat replies. “I’m staying right here with you Izzie.” 

She notices how the shorter girl’s mouth begins to tremble and her eyes become watery. The brunette walks over to her girlfriend and wraps her arm securely around Izzie, putting her arms around Izzie’s waist. Casey tightens her embrace around her girlfriend, wanting to make her feel safe, secure, and appreciated. The brunette felt the chest of her shirt becoming wet but she didn’t mind, as long as Izzie and her siblings are safe. Casey slightly pulls away and so does Izzie; the two lean in and share a quick kiss so her younger siblings don’t see. Their small moment is interrupted by tiny footsteps approaching the couple. 

Izzie frantically pulls away from Casey and stares at what seems to be one of her younger siblings. “Is your brother okay?”

The girl silently nods, fiddling with the hem of her light pink t-shirt. Izzie kneels down to her sister and Casey follows her girlfriend’s actions. Izzie’s younger sister appears to be on the verge of tears and the black-haired girl slowly raises her chin up. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Alright? You’re the strongest little girl I know!”

Her younger sister begins to smile as Izzie wipes her eyes off. Casey notices the little girl directs her eye contact towards her. “Oh hey there! I’m Casey, your sister’s friend.” 

The brunette holds out her hand for the little girl to shake; she hesitantly does so. She runs off into their living room area and once she does, Izzie leans into the side of Casey’s face and places a quick kiss on the check; the brunette blushes when she feels Izzie’s mouth form into a smile. “I’ll go check on my brothers…”

She walks down the narrow corridor of the house and Casey stands back up, looking towards the little girl who appears to upset. Something in the brunette’s brain clicked and she begins to approach the girl slowly, lowering herself on the couch very gently. Casey notices the little girl eyeing the pizza box hungrily.

“You want one? I got it for you guys.” The little girl’s mouth forms into a smile and she nods very happily. Casey grins, leaning forward to grab a slice for the little girl and is surprised to notice that the pizza is still warm. “Here you go.” She hands the little girl the slice and watches her eat all happily. Izzie’s little sister muffles out a thank you as she chews, causing Casey to laugh a bit.

“Are you in college?” The little girl asks, her voice sounds very light and squeaky.

“Nope, I go to school with your big sister! I’m in the same sport as her too.” 

Casey’s heart warms when she notices the little girl become more excited as she takes one more bite from her pizza. “My sister dances when you called her.” The brunette clears her throat and fights back a grin.

“Does she really?” Casey asks, entertaining the thought of her girlfriend doing a little celebratory dance. 

“Yep! Your name also has thousands of hearts next to it!” Before Casey could get a word in, Izzie’s little sister continues to spill many secrets. “On her bedroom wall, there’s a picture of you two with a heart drawn! And whenever she gets home, she’s very happy and glad. And-

A hand clamps over Izzie’s little sister’s mouth. “Okay, Mia that’s enough!” Mia furrows her eyebrows and Izzie immediately retracts her hand, wiping it against the couch. “Gross! Don’t lick me!” Mia runs out of the living room, laughing while Casey’s girlfriend proceeds to rest on the couch with a small smile.

“Aw come on, she was spilling all your secrets!” Casey teases, slinging an arm over her girlfriend. Izzie basically nuzzles into her side and plants a small kiss against Casey’s jawline.

“Oh shut up… Mia tends to overshare.”

“Clearly… so what’s up with your brothers?”

“My brother Aidan is taking care of the baby… he was crying when I saw him. When I asked what happened, he just said that mom walked out again…”

Casey secures her hold against Izzie, pulling her closer into her side. “I’m sorry about that… you taking them to your grandmas?”

“Maybe later tonight… I’m letting the baby have his nap time.” 

“I can drive you all then we can head to my place.” Izzie began to protest but Casey insisted on her offer. “Hey, it’s alright with me. I mean, I was already thinking of driving you guys there anyway so…”

Izzie sniffles, wiping tears away from her eyes. “You’re the best Newton…”

Casey turns to face her girlfriend’s face. “I know.”

Izzie quickly looks at their surroundings and once she noticed it was all clear, she places a kiss on Casey’s lips. The brunette turns to face her girlfriend and wraps her arms around her as Izzie cups her face. Every time the two kiss, Casey could feel her heart jump into her throat and her stomach doing a series of backflips and Izzie just can’t help but smile. They slowly pulled away, pressing their foreheads together, smiling like dorks, enjoying a moment of peace in their life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on Tumblr @charmingcentry


	4. right beside you

It’s the middle of Chemistry class and Casey feels  _ extremely _ exhausted. After meeting with a nutritionist that Coach Crowley had recommended to see and countless hours of practice for special UCLA training, Casey’s eyes just couldn’t focus on the now-blurry Chemistry equations written on the board. Although consuming more fruits and vegetables that Casey can count  _ should  _ cause her to feel more energetic, her main source of energy was gathered from french fries and greasy foods. Casey missed the foods that she loved eating the most. At least it was for the greater good… she has had her eyes narrowed down onto UCLA ever since Izzie brought the idea up. She couldn’t wait for a life where it was her and Izzie, just the two of them, figuring out their lives for the future together. 

Attempting to keep herself awake, Casey rests her head on the palm of her hand, leaning into her arm that propped up on the desk; she would’ve leaned towards Izzie’s but, Casey’s left-handed writing isn’t so neat. Her eyes began closing on her and the brunette tried her hardest to fight against the sudden drowsiness that took over her. Her girlfriend slowly peaks towards Casey who is now head-bobbing every now and then. With a smile on her face, she quietly moves her stool closer to her sleepy girlfriend. Izzie’s body shifts towards Casey a bit more, close enough for their shoulders to press against each other. 

Apparently, that was enough to spring Casey awake. The brunette slightly jumps in her seat and feels a sudden wave of energy rush through her body. Her eyes flutter back open and the first thing she notices is how  _ close  _ Izzie is and the body contact that they’re making. Casey flickers her eyes sideways towards Izzie who is clearly fighting back laughter. The brunette rolls her eyes and slides her notebook between the two, just enough so their teacher won’t notice.

_ i was trying to nap here >:( _

Izzie rolls her eyes, looking up towards the board as if she were taking notes; her Chemistry teacher was sitting at their desk anyway.  _ i barely touched u lol _

_ u rammed into my shoulder u evil witch _

Izzie rolls her eyes  _ more like bopped _

Casey snickers a bit which alerts some of their peers to glance at the couple, especially the teacher’s assistant passing out their worksheet for today. The brunette clears her throat, pretending to share her notes with Izzie to avoid any other further speculation from the teacher and her peers. Their classmates eventually spin back around in their seats, focusing on the other equations written on the whiteboard. Izzie and Casey glance quickly at one another, smiles spreading over their faces and silent laughter. The black-haired girl moves her stool a bit further away from Casey, focusing on her schoolwork. The brunette still feels her eyes trying to give out but at least she has some leftover energy from the little moment shared with her girlfriend. 

-

By the time the school day ends, Casey notices Izzie waiting patiently for her at their usual meeting spot, fiddling with the adjustable straps of her backpack; the brunette always found that extremely adorable. She rushes over to her girlfriend and wraps her arms around her, planting a kiss on her lips. Casey notices Izzie smiling into the kiss and she couldn’t help but smile as well. They pull away slightly and they interlace their hands together, walking towards the brunette’s car. They pull out of the parking lot and listen to the music that Izzie usually plays, it’s mainly a mix of 1975, Moby Rich, and other artists; her music taste varies. 

“I can’t wait to collapse in my bed.” The brunette says, still feeling a bit tired 

“Hey, we have to study for our upcoming math test you dummy,” Izzie adds, looking towards her girlfriend who quickly sticks her tongue out at her. “Oh my god, I’m dating a child.”

“Pfffft, I’ll have you know, I’m thousand times more mature than anyone you’ll ever meet.” 

Izzie rolls her eyes, lowering the volume of the music down a bit. “Says the one that just stuck her tongue out at me.”

“You love it…”

Before Izzie could reply, Casey’s phone goes off. “Could you get that for me?”

Izzie nods in response, grabbing her phone. “‘Hey Case, your brother had an incident at work just now, can you pick him up? From Brown Sugar Man?’” Izzie repeats, her voice rising when reading the signature typed at the end of the text. Casey’s grip on the steering wheel tightens as she makes a right towards Techtropolis rather than her home. “Easy Newton… don’t want a ticket now do you?”

“Shit… brown sugar man is Zahid and -  _ agh fuck  _ \- can you ask what happened?”

Izzie nods and starts to type away to message Zahid back, he replies right away. “He said that a customer and their family started to yell at Sam for 5 minutes when he got the wrong order for them when they came by to pick it up… those assholes.”

Casey’s grip tightens more, her knuckles turning white as she ignores the anger that’s boiling inside of her to avoid breaking  _ dozens  _ of laws that may involve assault towards a specific family and a speeding ticket. Izzie places her girlfriend’s phone down and tries to keep her calm. “Case, just breathe, it’s alright, okay?”

The brunette lets out a wavering sigh, loosening her grip on the steering wheel.

By the time they arrive at Techtropolis, Sam was under the cash register, holding his head and muttering his usual penguin alphabet to keep him calm. The manager allows the two ladies to go behind the register in order to reassure Samuel and to help him calm down.

“Hey, I have Izzie here if that’s okay with you.” Casey’s older brother only nods. The brunette swiftly pulls out her phone to read Ernest Shackleton’s Wikipedia page, beginning to read it word for word. Izzie notices the sudden mother bear role that her girlfriend takes on, hearing the soothing voice that Casey uses to help Sam calm down.

“Can I try reading it for him?” Izzie whispers, wanting to help Sam in any way she can. Casey hesitates for a little bit but she trusts Izzie with all her heart and knows that she has to do something similar to this with her little siblings every day. The brunette hands her the phone.

Izzie begins reading the Wikipedia, her voice so calm and serene, acting as a soft wave of tranquil throughout Sam’s current mind of crashing waves of bitterness and static noise. Sam’s arms transfer from his head to being wrapped around his knees, propping his head up. The black-haired girl smiles, continuing to read his Wikipedia page that is now about his open-boat journeys. Casey looks so in awe of her girlfriend, her heartwarming up as she hears Izzie repeat the words that she has had to say so often because no one else was around. The brunette felt tears escaping through her eyes, feeling so relieved that Sam is okay and how  _ amazing  _ her girlfriend is. Lost in Izzie’s soothing voice, she notices Sam complete a sentence of the Wikipedia page, signaling that he’s feeling better. The black-haired girl smiles at Sam and hands Casey’s phone back.

“You feeling better Sam?” Izzie asks, adjusting her position in the small space; he nods. “Look, working as an employee, you’re going to have a few rude customers here and there sadly but, it’ll all be okay at the end. You have your manager to help you deal with them and Zahid too… it’ll be alright… okay?” Sam nods once again.

“Alright, I think Bob will let you head home early for the day… we can stop by anywhere else before heading home if you’d like?” Casey says, slowly making her way out of the small storage space, helping her brother out as well.

“Maybe the aquarium… please. Stumpy is supposed to be out of her cave right now and I want to see her.”

The brunette smiles and leads him out of the store. “We’ll go see your weirdly-named penguin.”

Sam smiles and waits by Casey’s car. “I think that went well, Newton.”

The brunette’s smile grows wider and she turns on her heel to face her girlfriend. “Is it okay if I kiss you?” 

Without missing a beat, “Yes.”

Casey plants her lips onto Izzie’s, feeling a rush of adrenaline spread throughout her body as she tugs her shorter girlfriend closer by the waist. She feels so light and giddy, not caring that everyone inside Techtropolis could probably see the two. Their small moment is interrupted by Sam clearing his throat and the brunette simply shoves her hand into her pocket, unlocking the car. Her older brother heads inside the backseat and Casey eventually pulls away from Izzie, catching her breath a bit. 

“You are fucking awesome Iz.”

The black-haired girl blushes, tucking a stray hair of hers behind her ear as she makes her way towards the car. “Thanks… it just broke my heart to see Sam like that.” The couple buckles in their seatbelts and Casey pulls out of the parking lot towards the aquarium. 

“By the way Casey, Izzie did do a better job with the reading and pronunciation of places than you do.”

“Hey!” 

Izzie only laughs as her girlfriend begins to over-exaggerate her being offended, interlacing her hand with Casey’s as the car is stopped by a red light. 

Might not exactly be the day that the two were expecting, but as long as they have one another by their side, they’ll find a way to overcome that obstacle together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on Tumblr @charmingcentry


	5. sick

The first thing Izzie notices when her alarm begins ringing is the feeling of something pounding from the inside of her head and heat emitting off of her body. Her eyes feel insanely strained and it feels as if there was no moisture in her mouth; yet, Izzie manages to force herself to begin moving, even if her headache began to gradually become worse. Seeing that her siblings were still sleeping, Izzie quietly makes her way towards her mother’s room to wake her up. Gently turning the doorknob, she peeks into the small room and notices the bottle of Jack Daniels turned over on her nightstand, along with her mother who appears to be sleeping on the floor of her room. Izzie digs her nails into her palm, making an attempt to remain calm so she could help her siblings get ready since her mother clearly will be having a hangover. As she scurries to the kitchen, something begins to constrict her throat and Izzie begins coughing repeatedly, feeling her throat being scratched every time she would cough intensely. She leans over the kitchen sink, clearing her throat in order to make her coughing fits less frequent. After doing so, she opens the fridge and retrieves leftovers from a cafe Casey brought her to the other day as a date and heats it up in the microwave for her siblings; it was enough food for the three of them. Izzie then reaches for the baby food contained in the top drawer of the pantry and suddenly feels an irritating ache spreading throughout her lower back. She lowers the food down to the counter and pauses for a moment, letting her body to rest before starting the day officially. Izzie finally makes her way into the bedroom she shares with her little brother Aidan and her little sister Mia, waking up the 12-year-old boy for some extra help.

“Hey, mom has another one of her migraines again… you think you can help with the baby?” The black-haired girl croaks out, feeling her throat becoming more strained with every word that’s uttered.

Aidan slowly opens his eyes and grabs for his glasses right beside him. “Uh, yeah. Are you okay though? You sounded like you smoked a pound of cigarettes…”

Izzie lets out a laugh, only to be followed by another one of her coughing fits. She clearly knows she is sick but that’s never stopped her before. “I’m fine, just feed the baby. I already got his food down.” 

Her little brother nods and shuffles his way towards the living room where the baby’s crib is kept due to the lack of space in the room. Izzie begins to climb up the ladder of their bunkbed, feeling her body slowly shaking as she forces herself to continue moving. She slightly shakes Mia, telling her to wake up. Luckily, her little sister is extremely energetic in the morning and always excited for school, so without a fight, Mia immediately shoots up and climbs down the ladder. Izzie smiles at her sister’s excitement as she rummages through her drawers looking for an outfit to wear. Meanwhile, Izzie goes through her own drawer, retrieving her Clayton uniform while ignoring her clogged nose and her pounding headache. 

By the time Izzie is finished slipping on her blazer, Aidan has given the baby their food and Mia is happily eating a portion of the leftover pancakes and bacon from Izzie’s leftovers. The oldest of the siblings opens their medicine drawer and retrieves a bottle of Advil to help her fever go down and possibly lower her headache pain. She downs the pill and chugs down her bottle of water while looking at her siblings go along with their own morning routine. Her brother Aidan is usually reading a book, one of his favorite pastimes and her little sister Mia is coloring another drawing that she has drawn while in school and finally, her baby brother Emmett is currently sleeping after finishing his breakfast. Finally feeling her headache drown out, she glances over at the time and begins to gather her siblings around to catch their bus. Aidan and Mia attend the same school since elementary school and junior high is combined all together and Izzie is the only one who attends another school outside of their district due to her scholarship. She asks Aidan to start walking the two towards the bus stop while she leaves a note for her mother.

_ Emmett has had his bottle for breakfast and everyone else already ate. I’ll be home right after practice. _

She usually would spend some time with Casey afterward but her fever looks like it won’t be going away anytime soon. Izzie grabs her backpack and exits their small unit, locking the door behind her and by the time she’s outside of her small apartment building, Aidan and Mia are already loading the bus. The bus driver waves at Izzie and drives off, the black-haired girl smiling when she notices her two siblings waving at her through the slightly tinted school bus windows. After seeing the bus leave, Izzie starts walking towards her own bus stop - a public bus terminal. She sits down on the bench and allows her body to rest a little bit, clearing her throat and sniffling every now and then. Sure, Izzie would usually stay home if she is this sick but she can’t possibly miss her chemistry and math test today… it was too much at risk. On top of that, Coach Crowley wanted her to train extra hard today in order to be scouted at the next track meet by UCLA, it was too much that she couldn’t miss. Even if she feels like she’s being cooked alive by her blazer and the long-sleeved polo, she can’t miss school. The only time she’s allowed to miss is when her mother decides to disappear but even then, Izzie is busy juggling her academics, track, and family life around, stretching herself out thin in order to keep up with the world. She’s not letting one fever take her down.

By the time she arrives at school, she could feel her sinuses clogging away and her throat being scratched up constantly by the number of times she had to clear her throat on the bus ride here. Izzie feels her mind constantly zoning out and her eyes constantly trying to close on her; she’s not in the greatest condition. She walks over to her locker and takes a small peek in the mirror she keeps on the door, resting next to the picture of her and Casey mini-golfing that Sam took for them. Izzie smiles a bit then realizes her skin looks a bit drier than usual and of course, dark circles underneath her eyes. She glances at the corner of the mirror and notices someone standing behind her, particularly, her girlfriend Casey. The black-haired girl smiles and turns to face her girlfriend, immediately being met with her slowly leaning in. Izzie presses her hand against Casey’s chest, not wanting her to get sick.

“Aw, did you lose interest in me?” The brunette teases as she opens her own locker

Izzie laughs, clearing her throat right after. “No, I just don’t want you to get sick.” The black-haired girl notices Casey’s sudden look of confusion and concern and playfully swings her arm lightly at Casey. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine really.”

“Dude you sound like you attended a mosh pit concert last night… if you did, how dare you not invite me.” The brunette laughs, slipping her hand subconsciously into Izzie’s.

“As long as I don’t push myself too hard, I’ll be okay.” They continue walking down the hallway, heading straight towards the student lounge where Izzie could rest on the couch.

“So does that mean no practice today?” Izzie tugs at her bottom lip, avoiding eye contact with her girlfriend. Casey looks towards her now-suspicious looking girlfriend and nudges the door open to the student lounge open with her foot. “I swear if you are attending practice Izzie…”

“I have too! I need to train for UCLA~” Izzie groans as she wipes her nose with the sleeve of her uniform. Casey exchanges a look of disgust with her girlfriend and starts laughing a bit, leading her onto the couch in the student lounge. “I’ll be okay… don’t worry about it.”

“But-.” 

Izzie takes hold of her hand. “Casey, I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me…”

The brunette hesitates for a moment and finally gives in. “Okay… just don’t push yourself too hard, please? Can’t have you dying on me.” Casey plants a small kiss on Izzie’s cheek and continues holding her hand, stirring up an idea for later…

-

The black-haired girl’s confidence about being capable of pushing through her sickness was ultimately lowered by the time the school day was over. During first period, the teacher had run out of tissues in the middle of class, forcing Izzie to withhold from sneezing and clearing out her nose. Her head had to be propped up by her hand, attempting to pay close attention to the math equations being scribbled down on the board; it didn’t help that she already had difficulties focusing previously since it’s math so early in the morning. When the next couple of periods came around, Izzie had to endure the same routine of having to withhold sneezing and blowing her nose because, for some reason, all her classes had shortages of tissue boxes. So when break and lunch came around, the first thing she had done was immediately ran to the bathroom in order to breathe for once. Of course, Casey was constantly checking up on her throughout the day, even though classes where she received messages being centered around the brunette willing to bring tissues to Izzie’s class and making sure she was feeling moderately well… it made Izzie’s day  _ so _ much better. 

“Izzie, come see me in my office.” The black-haired girl hears Coach Crowley says as she opens her locker. She wipes her sleeve against her nose and immediately gathers her belongings, making her way back into the school hallway. 

“Uh, what’s going on?” Izzie asks, clearing her throat every so often. Coach Crowley immediately gives a look of disbelief. 

“You sound horrible Izzie! Go home now.”

Izzie began to protest. “No, I can still attend practice I swear.”

“Home. Now. I know I’m all about pushing you guys way past your limit but you clearly need rest. Please, go home so you feel better soon.”

Izzie lets out a defeated sigh. “Okay Crowley… I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You’ll see me when you get better Izzie.”

The black-haired girl leaves and is greeted by Casey who is already dressed in her Clayton Track Uniform. Her hair is tied up in the typical half-up half-down style that Izzie has always found  _ extremely  _ adorable. 

“I guess you’re going home…”

Izzie frowns a bit. “Yeah, she’s forcing me too.”

“I’d walk you to your bus stop but Coach will probably make me train for a longer time if I’m not on the field right now… I’ll see you soon Iz.”

Casey quickly plants a kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead before running off in the opposite direction towards the field as Izzie makes her way to the bus stop to head home. She inserts her earbuds and waits patiently for the bus, wishing that she wasn’t sick

\- 

The minute she arrived home, the first thing that caught her eye is her mother’s car being absent from the small parking lot reserved for the apartment residents. Izzie glanced around a bit more, weaving throughout the cars to read each license plate to confirm that her mother’s car was actually missing. She let out a scoff, feeling moderately irritated since her mother is clearly absent while also expecting this type of behavior coming from her mother. Izzie makes her way toward her apartment unit and unlocks the door, finding her little brother handling the baby and Mia sitting at the table working on math equations. Izzie smiles at the sight of her siblings, feeling relieved that they’re safe and that the mother just simply went out and nothing else. Her little brother Aidan perks his head up and furrows his eyebrows together, gently rising up to greet his older sister. 

“Don’t you have practice right now? How come you’re not there?” In response, Izzie lets out a painful-sounding cough. “Oh… that’s why.” His older sister rolls her eyes, ruffling his messy hair a bit more; Aidan has always had a bedhead type of hair, making him a very mean Harry Potter for each Halloween. Izzie takes the baby from Aidan, allowing him to complete his assignments from school today. She walks over to Mia who smiles brightly.

“Izzie! You’re home! Wanna help me color later?” 

The black-haired girl grabs the baby bottle on the dining table. “I would love to Mia but I have to rest for a little bit, okay?” Mia nods understandingly, continuing to finish her multiplication and division worksheet; Izzie wishes she could go back to that type of math instead of derivatives and Riemann Sums worksheets…

The oldest of the four siblings proceed on with their daily activities and routines, Izzie typically caring for the baby along with Aidan and Mia completing their homework for the night. The black-haired girl sits on the couch by Emmett’s crib, watching over Aidan as he completes a DBQ for his history class. The miniature male version of Izzie is extremely intelligent, usually being able to pick up the material that he learns fairly quickly and being capable of applying them anywhere he sees. It makes Izzie happy, knowing that her brother will get far in life with his brains like scholarships, awards, and ceremonies. It’ll really help her brother in the future knowing that their mother isn’t quite the best and financing everything out… 

After feeding Emmett, Izzie gently places him inside his crib for nap time and heads towards the bedroom she shares with her two other siblings. She gets her textbook out and places it on the edge of her bed along with her mathematics binder. Izzie lowers herself on her stomach, trying to focus on the math problems presented in front of her. She slowly felt her writing become more sloppily as she fought against her sudden wave of fatigue consuming her. Maybe one little nap wouldn’t hurt…

-

The sudden aroma of what seems like banana bread and pot roast slowly wakes Izzie up. Her eyes flutter open and she notices how the light of the room was turned off and how her body feels more compressed into her mattress. She notices her comforter draped over her and a damp towel lays across her forehead. Glancing over at her nightstand, she notices an ear thermometer and a small cup of medicine… Izzie is very baffled. Maybe it’s her grogginess she usually goes through after a nap or the fact that she’s just  _ really confused _ about what happened when she was sleeping. She shuffles around, slowly raising herself up to prevent another one of her headaches and walks out of her room, noticing a familiar duffel bag resting on the kitchen counter. 

“Hello?” Izzie croaks out, rubbing her eyes as she sniffles her nose multiple times

Out of the blue, Casey walks out of her kitchen. “You’re awake! Thank god I have zero clue on how to talk with children… or drawing… that’s more of Sam’s talent.” Izzie feels a smile spread across her face, knowing well that it was Casey who was taking care of Izzie when she was sleeping. 

“What are you doing here… and how did you get in?” Before Casey could respond, Izzie continues talking. “Surprised you didn’t break-in here.” 

“Oh shut up, your little brother let me in and told me how you passed out on your bed… and yes I did do the whole blanket and wet towel thing.” Izzie is on the verge of tears, so grateful that Casey had done this all for her family. The black-haired girl feels her nose becoming more clogged and she wipes her eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?” The brunette opens her arms to reach out for Izzie and wraps her in a hug. “Don’t cry… it’s okay. I’m willing to do anything for you Iz.” Casey slightly pulls away to face her girlfriend. “I care about you so much.”

“Thank you, Casey… it means so much to me that you did this.” The brunette plants a subtle kiss on her forehead. She hears someone clear their throat and notices Aidan and Mia sitting at the dining table with food presented in front of them. Izzie was quite right about what she smelled earlier… Elsa’s famous banana bread and pot roast. “I guess they’re waiting for us…”

She begins walking over to Emmett to wake him up but is interrupted by Casey’s hand slipping into hers. “I already fed him when I got here… knocked out right away afterward.”

Fighting back more tears and the desire to just kiss Casey right here right now, she decides to tease her. “Wow, Casey you’re quite domestic aren’t you?”

  
  
  


The brunette leads her girlfriend to the table and pulls her chair out for her and they begin eating. As usual, Casey and Izzie are seated right next to each other, passing one another the plates of food around to share. As Izzie begins to reach for the bowl of pot roast, Casey interrupts her hand, telling her that there’s a special dinner waiting for her especially. The brunette goes over to the kitchen and pours something out of a pot into a bowl, bringing it to the dining table right away. She places it in front of Izzie and the scent of chicken noodle soup starts to waft through the air. 

“The best remedy for sick people, I used Elsa’s recipe.”

Before Izzie could respond, she hears her little sister Mia squeal of excitement. The couple snap their head towards the little girl. “The Disney princess?” Mia exclaims, bouncing excitedly in her chair. Casey and Izzie snort, starting to get into a laughing fit while Aidan groans at his little sister’s comment.

“No Mia i- OW!” Aidan exclaims when she feels Izzie’s kick him intensely. Izzie puts her finger over her mouth, telling Aidan to not ruin Mia’s little moment of excitement. The messy-haired boy continues eating his food. 

“Yep. The Disney princess Mia. She makes the best food.” Casey states, stuffing banana bread into her mouth. Izzie laughs at Casey’s manners, or lack thereof, and begins eating the soup that the brunette prepared for her… this is possibly one of the best nights of her life. She forgets about her mom’s sudden disappearance and being sick. As of right now, her siblings are enjoying life and Izzie has Casey to thank for it. Her girlfriend is truly a remarkable person.

By the time they’ve finished dinner, Izzie has told the kids to prepare for going to grandma’s tonight, seeing her mom is clearly absent from their lives as usual. The black-haired girl accompanies Casey in the kitchen, helping her wash and dry the dishes to return to Mrs. Gardner along with Izzie’s own kitchenware. 

“You really didn’t have to do this all…” Izzie says, drying the last of the dishes that Casey has washed

“I wanted to Iz. The moment I saw that you basically looked like you had the plague, I immediately wanted to help you take care of the kids and sh- stuff.” The brunette responds as she turns the sink off 

The black-haired girl could probably sob… Casey is so thoughtful. “I-” She bites her tongue, deciding whether or not if she should say these words. Oh, what the hell. “I love you, Casey.”

Those four words caught her girlfriend off guard, the brunette’s mouth slightly dropped open and her gaze softening. Casey approaches her slightly crying girlfriend and reaches for her hands. “I love you too Izzie.” They share a small kiss in the middle of Izzie’s kitchen, Izzie feeling so safe in Casey’s hold and presence. Realizing where they were - and how sick Izzie is - the two reluctantly pull away, not wanting the little siblings to catch them. They begin walking towards Izzie’s shared bedroom to gather Izzie’s own belongings along with her school supplies. Once everyone was ready, Aidan picks the baby up from his crib and exits out with the rest of his family and Casey, following the tall brunette to her vehicle. Everyone settles in the backseat and Casey inserts the address of their grandma’s before driving and makes sure that everyone was settled in. When she receives confirmation that everyone was settled, she starts driving.

-

“Oh sweetie, you don’t look so well.” Mrs. Gardner says, greeting Izzie at the door. “I hope you were able to rest and drink the medicine Casey brought for you.” She grabs Izzie’s bags and places them by the stairs.

“I sure did and thank you so much by the way for the dinner, it was so thoughtful of you.”

Mrs. Gardner waves her hand in dismissal. “That was Casey’s idea.” The brunette immediately rushes upstairs, grabbing Izzie’s belongings while yelling some incoherent babbling to drown out her mother’s words. Her girlfriend and her mother began laughing at her embarrassment, enjoying how easily flustered Casey gets. Mrs. Gardner leans in closer to Izzie. “She seemed so worried about you honey… the minute she got home she just grabbed the food, the medicine and left.”

Izzie laughs at the thought of that. “Well, good night Mrs. Gardner, thank you for letting me stay.”

She heads up the stairs and walks inside her girlfriend’s room, finding Casey throwing a pile of clothes on her mattress. The brunette looks up and gestures towards the sweater and shorts. “You can wear those if you want.”

Without hesitation, she takes the clothes and heads inside the bathroom to change. Once she finishes changing, Izzie heads back into Casey’s bedroom and slides underneath the covers next to her girlfriend. The brunette turns off the lights in her room and turns on her side to face Izzie. 

“I’d like cuddle you and all but your sick and gross.” She says in a childish tone, sticking her tongue out at the end.

“Oh, whatever Newton…”

Casey lets out a small laugh and moves in closer to Izzie anyway, wrapping her arms protectively around the smaller of the two. The black-haired girl coughs lightly and begins to close her eyes. “G’night Newton…” She mumbles

“Good night Iz…”

Wrapped in Casey’s arms, Izzie falls asleep. 

She really does have the most amazing girlfriend.


	6. thunder

The rain pitter-patters against the exterior of the Gardner house, along with the occasional sound of thunder and striking of lightning. It’s been raining for the past couple of days but tonight is supposedly the worst day of rain. Throughout the entire day, it’s been pouring heavily, causing minor floods in the street along with a severe case of mud for many front lawns in Gardner’s neighborhood. To make matters worse, the wind is also involved in this evil concoction of a rainstorm, causing the weather to become extremely cold. Luckily for Sam, Denton University is currently on its Thanksgiving break, allowing the college freshman to remain at home while working on his art assignments and caring for Edison. Not so luckily for Casey, school is still ongoing and won’t be on break until Thursday and of course, her routinely track practices have been taking place inside Clayton’s gym. The brunette wishes that it wasn’t raining, particularly because she may or may not have a fear of thunder.

She pulls into the Clayton student parking lot and turns off the engine of the car, grabbing her umbrella in the process. Casey pulls the hoodie of her raincoat over her head, zipping the coat all the way up. Afterwards, she slips on another layer to keep warm and to prevent being attacked by the bitterly cold air outside. Taking a deep breath, Casey unlocks the car door and proceeds to stick her umbrella out, eventually sliding it open. The brunette grabs her backpack from the passenger seat and heads out, immediately feeling the water slowly engulf her hightops when she steps outside. She feels the wind splatter water all over her face and isn’t entertained by the fact that she will have to wash these shoes _ again _ so they won’t smell horrendously like in previous rainy seasons. A clap of thunder emerges out of the blue, Casey’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she approached the main entrance of the building. She recollects herself before entering, not wanting anyone else to know that she’s absolutely _ terrified _of thunder. Gripping on the cold door handle, she aggressively pulls the door open due to the resistance coming from the harsh winds and finally, enters inside the moderately warm building. Casey closes her umbrella and walks towards her usual meeting spot with Izzie before being interrupted by a poke on the shoulder. Turning around, she finds her girlfriend with slightly damp hair and the long black coat she wore when Casey first met Izzie.

“There you are! What took you so long?” The shorter of the two asks as they continue walking towards the student lounge.

“I walked here.” Izzie rolls her eyes, slipping her hand into her girlfriend’s. Casey’s freezing cold hands are met with Izzie’s warm ones, that shocks the two. “How are your hands so warm?” The brunette asks in disbelief

“It’s called gloves you dummy, you should try them y’know? Your hands feel like you left them in the freezer for too long.” The brunette laughs and swiftly tightens her grip on Izzie’s hand when another clap of thunder roars from outside. The black-haired girl furrows her eyebrows together, wondering why Casey suddenly tensed up. “You good Case?”

Casey looks toward her girlfriend, trying to avoid her usual trembling voice that occurs whenever she hears the sound of thunder. “Um, yeah! Just… you know, trying to warm up my hand with yours.” She quickly thinks of something sarcastic to cover up the uneasiness that came from her voice. “Seriously, does your whole body just act like a furnace or something?”

Izzie looks at Casey for a second, knowing that something is wrong; she decides to ask later when she comes over to her house. “Probably. It’s just because I’m so hot.” The black-haired girl teases.

Izzie’s joke calms the brunette, causing Casey to loosen her grip on her hand. “You aren’t wrong about that.”

-

The occasional wincing that came from Casey throughout the day sparks suspicion from Izzie after seeing how on edge Casey was during Chemistry class and even during practice. During Chemistry, the teacher had assigned a lab and as usual, Casey and Izzie had chosen to be one another’s partners. They were working on the dehydration of sugar and as Casey was pouring sugar into the granulated cylinder, she nearly toppled over the measuring tube since there was a sudden reaction that came from her, causing Casey to jolt her hands frantically. Izzie was only met with an awkward smile that came from her girlfriend as Casey passed the sugar to Izzie for her to pour. During lunch, Casey had nearly choked on the pizza that she calls a stale cracker for some odd reason. When Izzie was entering the locker room, she could’ve _ sworn _that Casey was the one screaming bloody murder during a long period of non-stop thunder; Casey was the only person in the locker room at that time. Whatever it is, when the rain became less violent during the middle of practice, that seemed to have calmed the brunette a bit since she didn’t drop the baton an absurd number of times. 

By the time practice ended, it was around 6:00 P.M. and due to Daylight Savings Time, it was already very dark. The rain was becoming more violent once again and Casey is still at her calm state from before. Izzie and Casey share an umbrella together as they maneuver their way towards the student parking lot in order to avoid their street shoes from being more drenched from rainwater. When they made it to Casey’s car, Izzie notices how quickly she was to unlock the car door for Izzie and immediately jog towards the driver's side, swiftly turning the engine over while also buckling in her seatbelt. The brunette basically throws her backpack into the back of the car and begins pulling out of the parking lot, driving slowly due to the slippery roads. Izzie plugs her phone into the auxiliary cord and plays calming music, in hopes to release some tension from her girlfriend.

“Newton, quick question,” Casey mumbles in response. “What’s up with you today? You seem a little… off.”

The brunette hesitates to respond at first, wondering if she should tell her girlfriend the truth or not. Instead, she tells a big fat lie. “Oh, it’s just nerves for our upcoming track meet… y’know that one undefeated team is going against us this time.” Well, it’s partially true anyway.

“We got this in the bag Case… don’t stress over it that much. Besides, I’m right here beside you if you ever feel really nervous or something.” Izzie glances towards Casey. “And if anything is bothering you, I’m always right here when you need it.”

Casey smiles and feels a sense of relief wash over her, feeling lighter than ever. “Thanks, Iz… love you.”

“Love you too idiot.”

They continue the drive to Casey’s home with Khai Dreams playing softly in the background along with the sound of rain splattering against the car. 

-

“Izzie, you’re here,” Sam says when the couple walks through the door.

“Well, a warm hello back to you Sam,” Casey says while leading Izzie towards their small laundry area.

Izzie smiles at Casey’s older brother. “Hey dude, how’s college going?”

“It’s going okay, I passed all of my midterms other than Ethics since I didn’t take it. I was busy saving Zahid from getting married to Gretchen while also keeping my promise that I wouldn’t let him fail nursing school. It _ was _an ethical situation though because it was a moral quandary.”

The black-haired girl lets out a slight laugh. “Wow, a wedding crash sounds fun. How about your relationship with Paige?” Izzie asks as she hands her wet shoes and socks to Casey to place inside the washing machine. 

“It’s good too. She’s taking me to Olive Garden tomorrow to celebrate her getting another job at a place that pays much better than that awfully loud arcade potato restaurant, I’m happy for her. I’m also happy because I get to eat buttered noodles again.”

Izzie's heart warms at the comment Sam made about being happy for Paige, he is such a sweet person. “That’s awesome Sam!”

“Alright dude, we’re gonna head upstairs to study before you steal Izzie from me. Cya Sam.”

Before Izzie and Casey could even make it up the first step, Sam follows the couple to make another comment. “Casey, I put Tyler the Tiger on your bed since i-

“Okay, Sam we’re going to study now!” Casey yells, drowning out the last part of Sam’s sentence before slamming her room door shut. The black-haired girl lowers her backpack down along with the duffel bag full of her clothes. She sees how the brunette is quick to throw the stuffed animal across her room.

Izzie unzips her duffel bag to change into comfier clothes. “What’s that about?”

“Uh, nothing! Just, you know, Sam being Sam.” 

The black-haired girl pulls out a shirt that Casey let her keep and a pair of shorts. “Right…”

Izzie and Casey change in silence, the brunette heading into the bathroom to return the stuffed animal to her brother first. The shorter of the two notices that the rain is beginning to fall harder once more and that the thunder is returning. Izzie proceeds to pull out her history textbook and notebook to study for her upcoming test. She lowers herself onto Casey’s bed and starts reading the section about the Westward Expansion, taking notes on certain subtopics she had missed out on or didn’t understand well. As she takes her notes, Izzie notices muffled arguing coming from Sam’s room - mainly Casey’s voice. She approaches the bathroom door and unlocks it, entering the shared bathroom to hear what the two siblings were arguing about.

_ “Casey you need it! It’s raining and it’s what you d- _

_ “Sam no! It’s okay, I’m fine without it now. I’m literally 16 dude, I don’t need the tiger anymore.” _

_ “As your older brother I- _

_ “No!” _

Izzie hears Casey approaching the door and sprints like hell back to the bedroom - her running skills come in handy with these types of situations. She dives for Casey’s bed and pretends she’s still taking notes as the brunette enters the room, seeming slightly frustrated.

“Everything okay Case?’

There’s a clap of thunder, Casey’s hands ball into a fist. “Yep. Let’s just study for history test before I just resort listening to the Hamilton soundtrack.”

“You’re gonna do that anyway…”

The brunette takes her place next to Izzie, reading the sections aloud with her as they both take notes. Ever since Casey had met Izzie, she’s felt more motivated to achieve high standards with her academics along with studying more frequently. Although she would rather prefer her main focus being centered around Track and Field and preparing for that UCLA scholarship, she knows that her academics will always come first. They both ask each other questions about the reading and write down notes that the other person missed. Casey and Izzie better win the best couple in their yearbook. 

By the time they finished studying, the rain has only gotten worse and the thunder is becoming more frequent. Their school supplies are back inside their book bags and the couple is underneath Casey’s warm comforter, laying down separately rather than Izzie being in Casey’s arms. They’re falling asleep soundly until there’s a sound of thunder coming from outside, one of them begins shifting underneath the blanket frequently. Izzie slowly opens her eyes and shifts her head a bit to have a clear look at her girlfriend. Her face drops when she sees Casey clenching the blanket, her eyes shut tight. Izzie shifts closer to her girlfriend and moves onto her side. 

“What’s wrong?” The black-haired girl asks softly, gently removing Casey’s hand from the blanket to hold it

The brunette slowly opens her eyes, lowering the blanket up to her neck. “I’m just having a hard time sleeping that’s all.” Before Izzie could respond, Casey turns over to her side. “I’m kind of, maybe, just a little, scared of thunder.” Another clap of thunder times perfectly with Casey’s response, causing her to wince once more. “Okay, maybe a lot.”

“Is that what today was about?” Casey nods. “And Tyler the Tiger?” She nods once more.

“When Sam was around 13 or so and I was like 11, he gave me the tiger that he bought for my birthday. He said it was for when I was scared of thunder, I can cuddle it to make me feel better, like a protector or something… ” Izzie waits for her to continue with her story. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it didn’t. I also don’t like people knowing about it because it makes me feel vulnerable and weak.”

The black-haired girl runs her hand through Casey’s hair. “Casey, you’re not weak for having a fear… everyone has their own fears. I’m scared of clowns, you’re scared of thunder… there’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Izzie holds Casey’s arm under the blanket. “It’s part of being a human and the only thing we can do is confront it and get through it… which you basically did the whole day.” 

The brunette smiles. “You’re right… thank you, Iz.”

The couple shares a sleepy kiss and just as Casey was going to wrap her arms around Izzie, the black-haired girl slightly pulls away. “Since you don’t have that tiger with you… I’ll protect you.”

Acting as the “bigger spoon,” Izzie pushes herself up to be slightly more above than Casey and wraps her arms around the brunette. The taller of the two nudges her head underneath Izzie’s, resting her head against the black-haired girl’s chest. Izzie slightly tightens her embrace around Casey, wanting her to feel safe and secure. She plants a soft kiss on Casey’s forehead and the two fall asleep.

As the two slowly drift off into their dreams, there’s a clap of thunder. For the first time today, the brunette didn’t flinch or stir out of discomfort. Instead, she let out a content sigh, nuzzling in closer to Izzie.


	7. perfect

Ever since Izzie was young, she’s always been exceeding high expectations academically throughout her entire elementary and middle school career. She’s always been one of those gifted students, usually being placed in the program exclusively for those who appear to advance quicker than others and always understood the lessons her previous teachers taught fairly quickly. She would receive various academic achievement awards from the district and to really tie it all together, Izzie was amazing at track. Her outstanding academic achievements and amazing performance in track and field is what got her a scholarship at Clayton and unlike her peers, Izzie was capable of attending the school due to her abilities, not mommy and daddy’s loads of cash. 

The minute she received word from her principal that Clayton was going to be offering Izzie a full-ride scholarship, the black-haired girl knew she had to work harder than she already does. With her mom being pregnant by the time Izzie had promoted from middle school and her already caring for her younger brother and sister, she couldn’t afford to lose this chance. It was her only chance at being better than her sorry excuse of a mother and Izzie’s younger siblings look up to her. With every step of the way, Izzie’s shoulder is constantly being looked over. She could feel an unbearable weight suffocating her chest whenever she focuses on her schoolwork, whenever she practices with Casey or her track team, and whenever she takes care of her younger siblings. It’s always there, like someone breathing down your neck or trying to swim up the ocean with a metal ball being chained to your ankle. Izzie can’t afford to mess up. She just can’t. 

It was early morning during first period, Izzie’s AP Calculus AB class and the teacher had announced that they completed grading their most recent tests regarding Related Rates. According to their math teacher when they first began the unit, this would probably be considered the most difficult unit that the students will learn in Calculus AB and of course, that sent chills down Izzie’s spine. Her grade for the class is already on the borderline of becoming a B which constantly teases Izzie every time she loads her student account and notices that 90.2% mark next to the class information. Although a B wouldn’t be considered a horrible grade _ and _would be weighted to an A since it’s an AP class, Izzie still feels like that’s not suitable for her standards; she’s always reaching for perfection whenever possible even if it may break her one day. The black-haired girl avoids complaining about her grades though, especially when talking to Casey. Her girlfriend gets peeved whenever Izzie is upset about receiving a B on any school assignment, saying that it’s a very solid grade marking and usually wrapping Izzie in a hug nevertheless because Casey hates to see her favorite person upset. 

Anyway, the teacher rummages through his desk, retrieving the papers silently and begins passing them to each row. The black-haired girl taps her foot rapidly, trying to level out her breathing since it tends to become frantic during these types of situations. She takes a peek around the room, glancing around everyone’s papers and notices the exasperated looks that washed over her classmate’s faces. Her chest tightens when she notices the low grades written in the teacher’s bright red ink at the top of the paper; Izzie’s heart rate begins to increase. She notices her teacher walk over to her desk, the test flipped over, his thumb covering the grade; his usual way of passing back tests. The test glides onto the desk and Izzie flips over the paper.

_ 65\. A D. Izzie’s lowest grade. _

The teacher completes passing back the test and announces his disappointment in the class for scoring so low on a test that he reviewed frequently and thoroughly on. Izzie glances up at the ceiling and tries to withhold her tears from streaming down her face. Her hand clenched into a fist and Izzie pretends to yawn, making it seem like her tears were from yawning. 

Izzie felt _ horrible. _

-

By the time her second to the final period of the day, AP Language, was finished, she begrudgingly walks over to her AP U.S History classroom, just wanting the day to be over with already. Not only the thought of having to see Nate for the last 58 minutes of her day just made her drop drastically but she had to endure the most _ painful day of her life. _ After her first period, the rest of the day was going pretty swell, being surprised with licorice from Casey during lunch which really made her day. It even had a note saying “You’re pretty _ sweet _,” It made Izzie laugh and feel better about her poor math test grade. Yet, that all came crashing down during Chemistry during their lab. Their job was to create that weird elephant toothpaste that occasionally goes viral. It was a guest teacher rather than their regular teacher and apparently that lab was extremely fun to do so the class went along. Izzie, still being slightly irritated from her math class, went over with Casey to grab the materials that they needed, some of which is a glass flask. When they were retrieving the flask from the wall holder that contains all the beakers and flasks, Izzie accidentally dropped one. It should’ve been no big deal, right? Well, Casey’s hands were in the sink, cleaning out a flask that the previous class left extremely dirty. The flask landed in the sink, shattering all over the bottom and accidentally cutting Casey’s hand. Casey had to spend the rest of the class in the nurse’s office while Izzie worked with another group, basically not doing any of the lab other than the report since her partners didn’t trust her. She wasn’t really having the best day. 

She takes her seat, pulling out the class materials and notices there’s a substitute teacher sitting at the teacher’s desk. So, she turns over to the whiteboard and reads the directions her teacher has left for the class. Izzie grabs her textbook that is usually placed underneath her seat and begins working on a DBQ about The Interwar Period. She plugs in her earbuds and gets to work by analyzing the documents first; Izzie notices something shift through her peripheral vision. 

“So, I heard you and Casey are together now,” Nate says suggestively, leaning his desk in towards his ex-girlfriend’s. 

Izzie keeps her earbuds in, eyes still focused on the textbook, biting her tongue to avoid snapping back at Nate. 

“What? I thought we were on good terms Iz, especially after your bitch of a girlfriend splattered that milkshake all over me.”

Her earbuds come flying off at the mention of the b-word. “Look, Nate, if you want to take that stick out of your ass and stop acting like a gigantic asshole, that would be highly appreciated. And it’s none of your business what Casey and I are.”

He slides his desk away from Casey. “Whatever… dick.”

Izzie slides her earbuds back out and lets out a shaky breath, continuing to work on her assignment.

-

The bell rings, dismissing the Clayton students to go home. Coach Crowley had to cancel practice today because of a family emergency so the track team was free to go home and spend the rest of their day freely. Izzie walks over to the student parking lot, feeling a bit nervous since it’ll be the first time seeing Casey since the whole flask incident. The black-haired girl could not wait to go home, or well, Casey’s house, to get away from the school. It was an extremely horrible day for her and Izzie just wanted to jump in bed, cuddling with her girlfriend, and forget this day ever happened. As she makes her way towards the parking lot, she notices Casey standing by the passenger side, her hand wrapped in a bandage. The brunette smiles at the sight of her girlfriend, waving up her injured hand.

“Damn Iz, I thought after that pack of licorice you wouldn’t hate me anymore.” She teasingly waves her hand. “I guess not.”

Izzie’s heart began beating faster and her mind drifts over to the events that happened today. Her failed math test, injuring her girlfriend, that annoying talk with Nate, kept circulating through her head. Izzie was supposed to be perfect. She was supposed to not mess anything up. Yet here she is, getting a low mark on her math, hurting someone she really loved, and immaturely snapping at her ex-boyfriend. Izzie felt like she just messed everything up, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Before she knew it, she felt Casey pull Izzie closer by her hands.

“Hey, I was just joking. I’m fine really. It was a really small cut and the nurse just put some ointment on it and wrapped it.” Izzie still kept crying, facing away from her girlfriend. Casey noticed the passerby staring at the couple. The brunette opened the backdoor and led her girlfriend inside, following after while shutting the door. She slings her arm around Izzie securely and holds her close. “Wanna tell me what’s up?”

Izzie rests the side of her face against Casey’s chest. “I just really fucked up today Casey. I completely bombed my math test, I hurt you, and I had this talk with Nate during history and I just acted so immaturely by retorting back.”

“Izzie…”

“I’m supposed to be this perfect person and this perfect role model for my younger siblings because there is no way in hell I’m letting them see my mom as one. But I just end up screwing up so badly and I don’t know what to do anymore…” Izzie’s voice breaks at the end of her sentence, causing a loud sob to emerge from her. Casey shifts her body to wrap both her arms around Izzie, holding her close as she sobs heavily. She lets her girlfriend cry it out for a little bit before speaking herself.

“Iz, you’re such a badass you know that? You’re juggling between taking care of your siblings and your mom, being a great captain of the track team, while still making good grades that make my B+ 's look like I’m failing. On top of that, you’re an amazing girlfriend and you always make what you do look so effortless even if it’s not. And to me, even though it may not seem like it to you, _ that’s _perfect.” Casey rants, her voice remaining on a slightly quiet level of tone. She notices Izzie slowly pulling away and smiling softly at the brunette; Casey could feel her stomach drop.

“God Newton… when did you get all romantic?”

The brunette rolls her eyes and leans in closer. “Just don’t tell Elsa, she would never let me hear the end of it.” Casey kisses Izzie, neither of them startled by the fact that anyone passing by could probably see the two sharing a private moment. Yet, they didn’t mind. 

Izzie is perfect in Casey’s eyes.

And that’s all that matters to her.


	8. decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scene where Izzie kissed Casey for the first time in the middle of the hallway at school.

Izzie’s world narrowed down onto Casey walking away, she had a few seconds to make her decision.

It was a hundred eyes already averting their attention towards the secret couple in the middle of the hall, wondering why Casey walked away so quickly from her best friend. Izzie’s mind is a flurried storm as her body turns towards the direction of where Casey is walking, eyeing the back of her head. It’s the stares she’s receiving from the people in the hallway when her body begins to lean towards Casey that suddenly halt her movement, her body freezing along with her eyes starting to water. Izzie knows her reputation is at stake if she decides to go through with her decision just like how it once was when Casey came into the school for the first time. For a sprinter, her legs seem to be giving out quite easily, as if her legs were trying to force Izzie into the ground to avoid risking her entire reputation in front of the many people walking down the hall.

She has 5 seconds left before Casey leaves the hallway completely and Izzie fights against the spell that has frozen her legs. The paralyzing glares of her fellow classmates that ask the dreadful question of what Izzie was going to do freeze the rest of her body, she was afraid. There’s dreadful noise in Izzie’s head for what should be a small choice in her life and she can’t stand it. The static grows louder as Izzie continues moving towards Casey, her chest slowly heaving when the thought inside her head is articulated into a noise.

“Newton.”

Her mouth tastes of rubber and plastic, immediately drying up when Casey whips back around with a look on her face that makes Izzie’s heart strain. Yet with that look on her face, Izzie had realized. Throughout these couple seconds of pondering what to do, there is only one person that Izzie hasn’t paid much attention to. The girl who made a blanket fort to help her feel better, the girl who was willing to drive four towns over to find a specific Slurpee flavor that Izzie really wanted, the girl who decided to stop running away and finally kiss Izzie. At this moment, Izzie had realized there was only one person in the entire school that had mattered at this instant - Casey. She couldn’t care to lose anyone else, she just never wanted to lose the beautiful brunette who made her life much more exciting. So through the glares from her peers, Izzie grabbed the sides of her face and leaned in.

A kiss shouldn’t be this hard to do but from now on, Izzie should really stop caring about what other people think. 


	9. movie night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thank you Nadiahilkerfan for the prompt

Flowing through the air is an inconsistent sound of brush strokes against an empty canvas. Left to right, up and down, the brush produces streaks of brown paint against the white surface shining underneath the living room light. The streaks of paint eventually form a distinct shape, mimicking the bodily structure of an octopus. Eventually, the paint dries out on the canvas and Sam places his brush down on a nearby table, leaving his painting to dry. Removing his headphones, he turns around noticing his little sister spacing out, staring past the canvas. Sam’s mouth shifts to one side of his mouth while he walks towards Casey. After examining her state of presence for a bit, he flicks her in the head. The brunette is startled and jumps slightly in her seat.

“I was paying attention, I swear dude,” Casey says, stumbling over her words. She stands up from the seat and walks over to Sam’s incomplete painting. He follows behind and stares at it for a second.

“Do you like it? I need feedback.” The brunette stares at the painting, pretending to stroke an imaginary beard. She leans forward a bit, noticing the newly applied coat of paint on the canvas. Casey examines the messy brush strokes and eventually places her arm on Sam’s shoulder.

“Looks like a pretty good octopus to me.” She says, patting her hand against Sam’s back. Casey notices how her brother doesn’t look reassured by her statement. Casey lets her hand fall against the side of her body and looks at her brother, or at least his side profile. “I’m no art critic but it looks like a good start, Sam. If you want professional help, you can probably ask that Abby person.” 

Her brother nods and walks over to the living room couch to ponder about his next step to take. Casey follows and sits on the opposite side of the couch, stretching out her legs to fill in the remaining space between the two. The brunette places her head down on the armrest and stares up at the ceiling, pondering for herself about later tonight. Sam looks over to his little sister and notices the expression on her face. Casey’s eyes are darting around the room, accompanied by her head slightly moving from side to side - a habit of hers when she’s slightly panicked about something.

“You’re doing your thing again…” Casey shoots up to make eye contact with Sam, adjusting her body to sit up straight. “Why are you so worried?”

The brunette slides her legs in, wrapping her arms around them. “I’m trying to figure out what movie to watch with Izzie tonight. She’s always falling asleep and I really just want one movie that might excite her enough so she can at least make it 30 minutes in.”

“What about an ocean documentary?”

With a horribly done British accent, “With a monotone voice like this for 3 hours. No thanks.”

“Well, just think about what makes Izzie excited. Usually, when I try to figure out what to do for Paige, I always think about her interests.” Casey’s eyes brighten and it seems as if a light bulb appeared on top of her head. She stands up and makes her way towards the stairs, quickly flicking her brother on the head to get her revenge. “Ow!”

“Thanks Sam!”

She runs up towards her room and grabs her car keys. Casey sets the GPS on her phone to the nearest convenience store and sprints down the stairs towards the door of her house. “Casey where are you going?”

“Somewhere! If Izzie drops by early, try to keep her occupied please.” To tease her brother a bit, she leans her head out the door before closing it entirely. “Don’t bore her with your painting, I need her awake by the time I get back!”

-

The only noise occupying the Gardner house is Sam painting his octopus for class, the brush strokes very audible to those that would stand near the college student. After talking to Abby about advice, tips, and other tricks that she knows of regarding painting, Sam feels a bit more confident in his abilities to continue painting without someone watching him. He dabs his paintbrush within the well of his palette, smoothing out the edges of the painted octopus, making sure that the curves were just perfect. After a couple of minutes, there’s a faint knock at the door that Sam cannot hear due to having his headphones on. The knocking continued for a while until the person at the door rang the doorbell. Sam turns his head towards the door, seeing the top of Izzie’s head through the glass. He places his painting materials down and opens the door for Izzie.

“Hey Sam, how’s it going?” Izzie asks, walking in after Sam. The black-haired girl looks around the Gardner home, feeling almost relieved that she’s in an environment that feels safe and secure. Her eye latches onto the canvas set up in the living room. Without hesitating, she walks over to the canvas and a smile stretches across her face. “Did you draw this?”

“Yes. It’s for my art class. We’re supposed to pick a marine animal and illustrate it.” Sam leaves the painting alone for now, not wanting to overwork himself. “Casey wasn’t much help for advice…”

Izzie laughs and recalls the drawing of Elsa she did during Chemistry - the only time she’s ever seen Casey actually illustrate something. “It looks great dude, I like the colors you used.”

“Thank you, I took some time researching about different octopuses and their color schemes.” Before Izzie could let a word out, Sam began speaking again. “Casey said to keep you occupied while she’s out doing something so… do you want to see the new tank I bought for Edison?”

Izzie’s eyebrows raise, wondering where her girlfriend is. “Of course! I love the little guy, tortoises are interesting animals.”

The duo begins walking up the stairs towards Sam’s room. “He doesn’t really do much other than blink and sleep.” Sam walks Izzie over to the tank, there’s a miniature loft installed where his sleeping area is. “My dad helped me build it, the drills were really loud though.”

Izzie is fascinated about the two-story tortoise enclosure she’s laying her eyes on. “This is so cool! Edison probably loves this so much.”

There’s a faint door slam coming from below, Casey must be home. The two exit Sam’s room, seeing Casey walking up the stairs, holding a plastic bag full of snacks. Casey is surprised to see Izzie standing next to Sam and waves her hand to greet her. Izzie waves back and starts making her way towards Casey’s room until the brunette sprints in before her. Casey shuts the door, telling Sam to keep occupying her while she sets up the movie night. Izzie and Sam, out of genuine curiosity, press their ears on Casey’s bedroom door and they both hear faint thudding accompanied by plastic being rustled about. After a few minutes, Casey approaches the door and opens it, laughing at how Izzie nearly stumbles forward. 

“Thanks, Sam, I owe you. Now farwell.” Casey gently tugs on Izzie’s arm and shuts the door behind her. The brunette steps forward and presents the little pillow fort Casey had made in the few minutes she had. Pillows were against the wall, creating a small boundary and a blanket acts as a “ceiling” for the pillow fort. A fluffy blanket is laid on the floor with a bunch of candy laid out for them. There’s licorice, gummy bears, chips, and some soft drinks and Izzie couldn’t help but smile.

“Your pillow fort skills are amazing,” Izzie says, walking over to the corner of Casey’s room where the fort was set up. She takes a seat and notices the movie ready to play on her girlfriend’s laptop. It’s a period piece set in the 18th century France where an artist is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young aristocratic lady for her wedding - Izzie has always wanted to watch this movie. Casey walks over after turning off the lights, steps over the laptop and snacks, and sits down. She drapes her arm over Izzie who cuddles up to her side. The brunette pressed play on the computer and the intro begins playing.

-

Casey suddenly feels a heavy weight against her side and peers over at Izzie. An empty bag of licorice is in between her legs and Izzie’s eyes are closed shut. The movie continues playing in the background while Casey gently presses a kiss on Izzie’s head, not wanting to wake her up. The brunette continues watching the movie herself, taking a sip from her soda and popping a chip in her mouth. Suddenly, she feels something moving against her side and begins to hear incoherent mumbling. Casey pauses the movie and the mumbling only continues. She eventually realizes that it’s Izzie. 

“Heloise, kiss her already.” Izzie mumbles, shifting her body even closer into Casey’s. 

Casey laughs quietly, realizing that Izzie talks in her sleep. Wanting to start a conversation with sleeping Izzie, Casey talks back. “We already passed that scene babe.” She feels Izzie’s arms wrap around her waist and squeezes gently.

“I just want more scenes of that…” Izzies reaches up and takes down the blanket above them. She wraps the blanket around the two and mumbles more. “My blanket. Only mine. That’s it.”

Casey laughs again, noticing Izzie slowly shifting to move on top of the brunette. Casey pulls her legs in while Izzie basically hugs Casey. The shorter of the two places their head on Casey’s shoulder and her arms wrap around the brunette’s waist once again. “Confy…”

Casey places a small kiss on Izzie’s cheek and couldn’t contain her laughter anymore. Startled awake, Izzie opens her eyes and notices how close she is to Casey. The brunette smiles softly and moves a stray hair covering her line of sight and tucks the strand behind her ear. “You’re very talkative in your sleep, did you know that?”

Izzie blushes while she gently pushes herself up, staring face-to-face at Casey. “Shit, I fell asleep again didn’t I?” Casey nods.

“My favorite thing that you said was when you basically took down our fort and said ‘confy.’” Izzie rolls her eyes and interlaces her fingers with Casey’s.

“Stop…” The black-haired girl is a little bit embarrassed by Casey’s teasing, her face slowly forming a small pout. The brunette notices her girlfriend pouting and a smile washes over her.

“Someone’s angry~” Casey teases and leans in to plant a kiss on Izzie’s lips. As she pulls away, Izzie slightly smirks.

“Oh whatever.” Izzie pulls herself off of Casey and sits beside her, crossing her arms like a young child throwing a tantrum. “You’re mean.”

Casey realizes the act Izzie is trying to pull and gently grabs her girlfriend by the chin, making her face Casey. Once again, the brunette plants another kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. Izzie shifts her body to face the brunette’s and her hand rests on Casey’s neck. The brunette rests her own hands on Izzie’s waist and pulls her in closer. They continue kissing until Casey pulls away, both of them catching their breath. “All better now Iz?”

Wrapping her arms around Casey’s neck, Izzie leans in slowly, feeling Casey’s breath on her own lips. “Maybe one more will help me feel better.” 

  
This is  _ definitely  _ the best movie night that the two ever had.


	10. roles reversed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what if Izzie had transferred to Newton High?

Leaving Clayton wasn’t Izzie’s first choice but it had to be done. The countless nights where Izzie came home late because of how far Clayton is from her home and staying up until 2 A.M nearly every day due to all the homework she’s been receiving wore out the sophomore. Her mother was no help either as she suffered from a hangover multiple times in a week and barely took care of her own kids. Izzie played the role of a mother in her family, making breakfast for her younger siblings, helping them with their homework, and even preparing their lunches for school, there was too much weight bearing down on her back. No matter how much Izzie would tell herself that the scholarship at Clayton would go to waste if she would leave, her mother was always there to berate her for attending.

_ You spend too much of our money. No one even goes to your races anyway. The gas mileage on our car is too costly! _

Izzie couldn’t handle the blame. So, she reluctantly made the decision to check out of Clayton and attend the nearest high school, Newton High School. Izzie constantly told herself that attending there would surely lessen the stress she constantly carries around with on the shoulders and perhaps she would get home early in time to finish homework before any time past 12 A.M. Newton High has a track team as well, it would just be another version of Clayton Prep. On her final day, Izzie tearfully said goodbye to her teammates, her coach, and her boyfriend Nate. Her checking out form was filled out by her teachers, each one wishing Izzie good luck at her new high school. When Izzie placed her textbooks in the office along with her form, the minute she exited the school, she became a Newton Owl.

A few days before the second semester started, Izzie received a tour of the school by the principal and immediately recognized the differences between Newton High and Clayton Prep. Newton High looked like a hand-me-down sweater compared to Clayton Prep, not the school’s fault though since Clayton received a large sum of money nearly every year. Their field was slightly smaller than the one at Clayton but Izzie couldn’t wait to set foot on a new track field once the school semester began. The biggest difference that Izzie enjoyed though was the “free dress” policy. Izzie would no longer have to wear those suffocating ties and collared-shirts, she could feel free to wear whatever - hopefully she would remember that. When the tour was over, the track coach of Newton High approached Izzie and warmly welcomed her to the team. The coach informed Izzie that a girl named Casey Gardner would escort her to classes and be her “buddy for the day.” Izzie felt a bit reluctant to meet someone right away in the morning on her first day at a new school. Izzie received her textbooks, her schedule, and the locker number. When the tour was over, her grandmother had driven her home and Izzie took a deep breath. Her new adventure at Newton High would begin very soon and Izzie knew she would have to work hard.

Izzie’s eyes shot open before her alarm could go off, the nerves of attending a new school finally caught up to the track star. She could feel her heart racing, her palms were sweating, and Izzie’s body slightly began shaking. The sophomore began dressing up for school, slipping on the clothes she usually wears and began rummaging through her backpack, making sure that all her materials were inside. Continuing on with her morning routine, Izzie made breakfast for her younger siblings, a simple bowl of cereal and baby formula for the youngest of the family. Surprisingly, her mother was up early and was willing to drive her children to school; none of them had to take a bus. Izzie fidgeted with the straps of her backpack the entire drive, anticipating the new faces she would see.

-

The minute Izzie pulls up to the front of Newton High, her stomach immediately drops, noticing the immense amount of people walking in through the main entrance. She was accustomed to Clayton Prep’s small number of people and to see basically a crowd swarm through the main doors, she hesitated to get out of the car. Her mother stopped in front of the school and unlocked the car doors for her daughter. Izzie quietly said goodbye and stepped outside the vehicle, feeling insanely uncomfortable. The black-haired girl slowly begins following the crowd of people into the building and remembers that she has zero clues about how to navigate around the school. Panicking once she sees people greet their group of friends, Izzie feels a light tap on her shoulder and turns around. She is greeted by a taller girl with brunette hair.

“Izzie right? I’m, uh, Casey.” Before Izzie could get a word in, she continued. “Sorry, you already know that. Kind of nervous, never been trusted before to give anyone a tour or anything like that.”

Izzie smiles at Casey’s nervousness, finding it funny that someone who has been attending the school for a long time has a lot of nerves. “Yeah, I’m her. It’s nice to meet you.” The two share an awkward handshake and Casey notices the clothing that Izzie is wearing.

“Trying to make a good first impression on people I see.” Casey says, gesturing towards Izzie’s outfit. Her eyes widen when she looks down at her clothing, she wore her Clayton uniform. Thank god she wore a black cardigan instead of the blazer… that would’ve been even more embarrassing. Izzie notices the people around her staring, murmuring into their little group of friends. The temperature in her body rises and Casey notices the bright red on her cheeks. “Don’t be nervous… just pretend like I’m your personal bodyguard for the day!”

Some stress is removed off of Izzie’s shoulders as she laughs at Casey’s remark. “I’ll try… now can you uhm, show me to my locker and stuff?” She asks. The brunette happily accepts and escorts Izzie to her locker, letting the new girl place her stuff inside the small locker. Casey walks over next to Izzie and begins opening her own locker, the new girl surprised to see that the two are right next to each other. 

“Can I see your schedule? I kinda need to escort you to class and all.” Casey remarks, slipping her own notebooks into the locker. Izzie takes out her schedule and fiddles with the straps of her backpack once again when she notices Casey’s jaw drop when looking at her schedule. “Dude, your classes just raised my IQ just by looking at your schedule. You have like… so many advanced classes!”

Izzie laughs nervously, wondering if being in a higher class is considered normal at Newton High. “By any chance are you in my classes?”

“I’m in your 6th since that’s our track time… that’s it. I’m not really as intelligent as you Iz.”

Izzie blushes at the nickname as Casey continues talking to her. She learns all the “secrets” that she should know about the school. Apparently, the best women’s restroom is on the second floor and that the pizza should be the only food item that she should be getting for lunch. Izzie learned that most of her classes are on the second floor and received Casey’s phone number before the bell rang for the first period. As Izzie entered her math class, Casey wished her good luck and strolled along to her own class. Izzie took a deep breath and walked in, noticing how everyone’s glance directs towards her. 

“Ah you must be Izzie!” the teacher says, giving a warm smile to Izzie. She nods and the teacher tells her that a free seat is available in the back corner, Izzie quietly cheered and took a sigh of relief knowing that she’ll go unnoticed for the entire period. After a few questions about the material she’s learned, she goes to her seat and grabs a notebook from her backpack. The bell rings and Izzie settles in. “Good morning class! Before we start, I’d like to introduce someone new to the school.” Izzie curses under her breath. “This is Izzie, she transferred her from Clayton Preparatory and will be your classmate for the rest of the year. Unlike all of you, she is not a junior and is, in fact, a sophomore.” Izzie clenches her pencil and bites her bottom lip. “I expect you to treat her kindly and make sure she feels welcome. Now, let’s get started on the warm-up.” 

After the unexpected introduction she received, Izzie starts copying the warm-up into her notebook, her pencil slightly shaking as she is a bit worked up from receiving the attention of everyone in the class. A timer goes off and the teacher begins calling on people for the answer and of course, Izzie’s worst nightmare, she picks randomly. After hearing a few kids get the answer wrong, the new kid flinches in her seat when the teacher calls on her name. The teacher asks her the question and Izzie notices all eyes are on her. She feels her throat constrict and her mouth go dry even though she knows the answer to the trigonometry problem. Clenching her hand into a fist underneath her desk, she eventually answers. “X would have to equal to 3.4.”

The teacher smiles warmly once again, congratulating her on the correct answer. Izzie slightly smiles and takes a deep breath in until she hears her classmate’s comments.

_ Tryhard. Smartass. She’s only here because she couldn’t afford that expensive ass school anymore. God, you don’t have to show off. _

Izzie fights back the tears and continues writing in her notebook.

-

As Izzie exits her 5th period, she realizes that she has absolutely zero clues where the locker room is located. She looks around aimlessly, attempting to ignore the people letting out small giggles when they notice Izzie’s face turns into a complete look of confusion and regret. Frantically walking around the hallways, she eventually bumps into a classmate wearing headphones around their neck.

“I’m so sorry!” Izzie says, brushing her hands against her skirt. The male looks at her and grabs the straps of his backpack. 

“It’s fine, I didn’t get hurt.” He says, continues walking past Izzie until she taps his shoulder.

“Actually wait! Do you know where the locker room is?” She asks, tears nearly flowing out of her eyes.

The male turns around and points down the hall. “On your left.”

Izzie quietly says thank you, rushing towards the locker rooms. She slams the door open and finds Casey standing in front of her, she seemed as if she was in a rush.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry dude! I completely forgot I had to pick you up from 5th…” Casey says, letting Izzie enter the locker room.

The black-haired girl laughs a bit, her stress being a bit relieved from Casey’s panicked tone. “It’s fine really… some dude with headphones gave me directions.” Izzie feels her stomach drop a bit when the brunette smiles a bit.

“Oh, if it was a guy with a green hoodie, that’s my older brother Sam. He’s annoying but I’ll tell him thanks for helping you out.” The two pause a bit, staring at each other for an awkward amount of time. “Uh, anyway! Let me show you to your locker.”

Izzie follows Casey and is left to change into workout attire. The brunette waits around the corner for the new girl and tugs at her bottom lip, trying to figure out some type of conversation starter. “So, how was your first day here?”

Izzie continues dressing, staring in the general direction where Casey is standing. “If I’m being honest, not the best but I’m not complaining.”

“It’s your first day, I’m sure things will be better eventually.” There’s a moment of pause in their conversation as Izzie shuts her locker, finally walking towards the entrance where the field is located. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to the team.”

The duo walks out of the locker room and is met with the Newton High track team already stretching out on the field. Izzie’s new teammates wave at Casey and completely ignore Izzie. She couldn’t have possibly already somehow offended her new team, had Izzie already done something wrong? Nevertheless, she shoots a friendly smile at them and joins in with their stretching, following her usual routine that the Clayton Prep team uses. Izzie notices her teammates occasionally shooting glances at her yet no word is spoken throughout the 10 minutes of the warming up period. Luckily, the coach steps out of his office earlier than usual and calls the team over.

“Welcome back from winter break everybody, hope you all enjoyed it.” Izzie stands near Casey since she feels the most comfortable around the brunette. Casey notices the new girl slightly hiding behind her and places a hand on her shoulder, trying to ease out some nerves from Izzie. “Before we get started with our usual routine, please give a warm welcome to our new teammate, Izzie.” She receives scattered applause and the coach gestures to her to move forward.

Izzie feels a slight push from behind, Casey’s hand had traveled down to her back. She stutters a bit, trying to find her words which is much more difficult with the brunette’s hand touching her back. With a slight blush on her face, Izzie begins speaking. “Hi, uh, I’m Izzie. I came from Clayton Preparatory and I’m really stoked to meet you all.” She lets out a nervous laugh, her hands tugging at the hem of her shirt. 

The coach talks a bit more and Izzie is relieved to learn that they’ll be doing basic drills today and the team splits into two groups. Casey walks Izzie over to the side of the field, explaining their exercises and drills for passes and other techniques. As the brunette talks, Izzie notices the team staring in their direction. Her heart strains when she notices two of the girls whispering into each other’s ear as they stare directly at Izzie. They share a laugh and when they notice Izzie staring, a condescending is shot towards the new girl. Izzie’s eyes become glossy and immediately averts her direction towards Casey.

“You okay dude?” The brunette asks. Izzie nods and makes up a lie about being tired. Casey believes her and the two join the group. The new girl wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath, it was going to be a long practice.

-

Izzie sits on the stairwell as she waits for her grandmother to come to pick her up. She pulls her knees closer to her chest and places her head down. Tears begin rolling down her face and she starts to begin crying loudly, her nose becoming stuffy along with her cheeks becoming puffy. As she cries, there are footsteps heard from behind and Izzie freezes up, shutting her mouth to prevent any sob from coming out. She feels someone tap on her shoulder and Izzie wipes her face against the sleeve of her shirt before looking up.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Was I too harsh during practice ?” Casey asks, trying to make up some sort of joke. She takes a seat next to Izzie and notices the tear tracks down her face. The brunette’s face becomes sympathetic. “Wanna talk about your day?” Casey offers, remembering that Izzie had mentioned her first day at Newton wasn’t quite splendid.

“I just… it’s different. I’m used to being in advanced classes with people my age, it was kind of the norm at Clayton. Then I come here and suddenly everyone is older than me and I’m somehow the weirdo for taking a course a year ahead of me?” Izzie exclaims, her voice breaking as she recalls the rude comments made by her classmates. “I’m suddenly a smartass, a tryhard, a showoff just for being in a stupid class?” She catches her breath as she pushes her palms into her eyes, not wanting any more tears from coming out. “I couldn’t go through 5 whole minutes without our teammates shooting a glance at me like I’m sort of dick.” Izzie slightly yells, removing her hands away from her eyes. Without warning, Casey wraps an arm around her new friend, pulling her close.

“Don’t listen to those assholes, they’re just jealous of the fact that you’re like the Einstein of Newton.” The brunette smiles when she hears Izzie let out a small laugh. “Just be better than them, you know? Show them how smart you are. And for our teammates… I’ll talk to them. I think they're just viewing you as some rich snobby person since you come from Clayton.” Casey pulls Izzie away for a bit and places both of her hands on Izzie’s shoulders. “If anything, I’m here for you Iz. You’re a pretty cool person.” 

Izzie lets out a scoff, wipes tears away from her eyes as she blushes at Casey’s nurturing words of encouragement. “Thanks, Casey…” They both lean in, hugging each other tightly. Casey and Izzie’s stomachs both drop, their cheeks turning bright red when they realize how intimate they have already become with each other. A honk is what separates the two teens from each other and they both reluctantly pull away. “I better be going… I’ll see you tomorrow!” Izzie says, walking down the stairwell. Casey waves goodbye as Izzie enters the car and heads towards the bicycle rack. 

“How was your day Izzie?” Her grandma asks, turning her turn signal on. 

Staring out the window, she thinks of Casey. “Started off bad but… it ended up being a pretty good day.”

They drive home, with Casey in Izzie’s mind and Izzie in Casey’s mind.


	11. discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Elsa found out about her daughter's relationship with Izzie
> 
> Quarantine is somehow benfitting my creativity :)

It was a quiet day in the Gardner house, everyone was busy doing their own hobbies within their own room. Sam was making final changes to his art project, Doug was out on a shift, and Elsa was busy doing the laundry as per usual. The only sound occupying the house was the sound of the dryer occasionally banging against the wall, there wasn’t much to do today. The weather was insanely hot and no one in the Gardner family wanted to go outside for a little bit, they preferred to stick with indoor activities during extreme weather. Yet, the two family members of the Gardner family stuck in the unbearable heat are Doug and Casey, the latter of the two practicing for their upcoming meet. Coach Crowley has been pushing the girls to their limit for the past couple of weeks, encouraging them to work hard in order to place high in the competition. With that in mind, Elsa walks over to the kitchen to prepare sandwiches for Casey and just in case, for Izzie too.

A couple of minutes pass by and the door opens, keys are placed into a bowl and the door is shut. Elsa hears the voices of Casey and Izzie so she whips around, waving at the two girls. Their duffel bags were placed by the bottom of the stairs and they seemed very exhausted from today’s track practice. Both of the girl’s hair was extremely frizzy from the humidity and their faces were slightly red. Elsa prepares a cup of ice water for the two and they walk over to the kitchen counter. Casey notices a piece of ham on a cutting board and decides to take it.

“That was for your guy’s sandwiches Casey.” Elsa exasperated, reopening the fridge to grab another slice of ham. The brunette holds the piece of meat in her hands, staring into her mom’s eyes for a good second before cramming it into her mouth. Izzie lets out a laugh and playfully slaps her side. 

“I’m hungry! I haven’t eaten anything other than half a granola bar since this one,” Casey nudges the shoulder of Izzie, “decided to eat the snacks she brought for me without even realizing it.”

“Next time, bring your own food Newton,” Izzie says, taking the glass of water from Casey’s mother. “Thank you for letting me stay Mrs. Gardner.” Elsa waves her hand in dismissal, informing Izzie that she’s welcome anytime in their household. 

“Alright well, Izzie and I are going to be upstairs, don’t come in unless I say so.” Casey remarks.

The duo walks away from the kitchen and as they leave, Elsa notices the two holding each other’s hands. She raises an eyebrow and ponders about the two’s relationship with one another. Elsa eventually decides to leave the topic alone for now and continues making the sandwiches, remembering Casey’s 16th birthday party where she caught the two nearly kissing. Feeling a bit nosy, she tries to get an outsider’s view about their relationship. She places the final slice of bread on top of the sandwich and walks upstairs, heading towards Sam’s room. She knocks the door and wanders in, finding Izzie gently petting Edison on the head; Elsa is quick to notice Casey’s warm smile shooting in the direction of Izzie.

“Girls, can I speak to Sam alone?” Elsa asks, walking over to the desk where Sam is currently sitting. 

“Huh, Elsa knocking on people’s doors… what a surprise!” Casey teases as she leaves Sam’s room with Izzie following her from behind. After hearing the bathroom door shut, Elsa sits on her son’s bed and taps him on the shoulder.

“Can I ask you a question honey?” Sam nods, still focusing on his project. “What do you know about Casey and Izzie?” She asks, her head looking towards the direction of Casey’s room. Her eldest child turns in his chair, facing his mother.

“What do you mean?” Sam asks, furrowing his eyebrows together. “I know that they’re both studying in the other room right now if that’s what you’re asking.” Elsa laughs at her son’s literal interpretation of her question.

“No, I mean… are Casey and Izzie dating?” Elsa says, a smile slowly creeping onto her face.

Sam opens his mouth but then pauses a bit before answering. “Casey said I’m not allowed to tell you anything or she’ll poop on my bed which I found to be fair.” Realizing that Sam wouldn’t tell Elsa anything, she leaves him alone for now. She gives Sam a little kiss on the head and makes her way back downstairs to bring the sandwiches to the suspected couple. 

Grabbing the tray, she walks back upstairs and slowly opens the door to Casey’s room. Her mouth drops open when she finds the two asleep on Casey’s bed. Izzie’s head is resting on her daughter’s chest, her arm draped over Casey’s stomach. The brunette’s arms are protectively wrapped around Izzie and the two seem to be in a pretty deep slumber, probably exhausted from their practice earlier. Elsa smiles gently and places the tray of sandwiches on a nearby chair. Before leaving, she grabs a post-it note from Casey’s desk and decides to write something.

_ You two sure looked very comfortable while taking a nap :) _

_ \- Mom _

She leaves the room and quietly closes the door, leaving the two girls with some peace before a long lecture about the “no door closed” policy.


	12. bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa and Izzie had a bonding moment... what about Izzie and Doug?

“Mom come on, it’s been a whole two hours. Get out of bed”

It’s a Saturday morning in Izzie’s house, the kids are still sleeping in with the exception of the baby who is being held tightly in Izzie’s arms. The mother of the family promised to take care of the kids today since her daughter had to attend a track practice at Clayton today but she’s not budging out of bed. Izzie notices the empty space next to her mother on the queen-sized bed and tugs at her bottom lip, wishing there was another person to help the family out. She gently places the baby down next to her mother and attempts to get her mother out of bed. 

“You promised mom. I’m not taking no for an answer.” Izzie says, removing the pillow that covered her face. Her mother squinted her eyes, shielding her face from the lamp on her nightstand while slowly getting up. She lets out a small exhale, the smell of whiskey lingering in her mouth. Izzie’s mother looks towards her baby and picks him up, gently cradling him in her arms. 

“Fine. But you owe me.”

The black-haired girl fidgeted around with the back of her earrings, preventing herself from crying. She turns on her heel and begins taking deep breaths to keep her calm, not wanting to cause a scene in front of her younger siblings. Izzie shouldn’t have to owe her mother anything, she shouldn’t have had to beg her mother to take care of her own children. Yet somehow Izzie still manages to act as the mother in the family, even taking care of her mom whenever she has a migraine or when her sorry excuse of a boyfriend hurts her feelings. Izzie was the backbone of the family and she wished that there was someone to help her out.

She enters the bathroom, getting ready for a shower and while she turns the faucet on, there’s a sound of a door clicking. Izzie assumes that her mother has gotten out of bed to feed the baby and continues on with her shower, still trying to calm herself down from the exchange she had with her mom. She stands still for a moment, her eyes closed as the water rushes down her entire body, feeling the bathroom become hotter from the steam. Izzie is nearly finished until she hears the sound of the front door opening and shutting loudly, her moment of serene peace is disrupted. She frantically turns the faucet on and wraps a towel around her body, walking out to the living room. Izzie finds her baby brother back in his crib, teething on one of his toys and no guardian to be found. Tears start to form in Izzie’s eyes as she realizes what her mother had done; she’s disappeared once again. She rushes back into the bathroom and tries her best not to cry, attempting to distract herself by putting clothes on. Izzie took a look in the mirror and couldn’t contain the resentment and despair anymore, tears began flowing as she burrowed in her face into her towel. 

After a couple of minutes to herself, Izzie takes her phone out and informs Casey about her situation.

_ I can’t come today, my mom disappeared again  _ she hesitates over the send button and presses delete

_ I can’t come today, I’m feeling extremely nauseous.  _ She presses send and receives a reply right away

_ maybe we shouldn’t have ordered the quinoa bowl yesterday… i hope you feel better <3 _

Izzie smiles at her girlfriend’s remark and exits the bathroom where she finds her two siblings already in the living room, waiting for breakfast. She waves at the two and walks over to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for all three of her siblings. Izzie makes two bowls of cereal and prepares the baby food for the youngest in the family. She sets it on the dining table and walks over to her baby brother and feeds him his apple and carrot mush… thank god he has a bib. Although Izzie could feel her own stomach growling, she didn’t mind, as long as her siblings were okay then Izzie could feel okay too. 

“I thought you had practice today Izzie.” Her little brother Aidan says, already finishing his bowl of cereal. 

“Not today, I don’t really feel that well.” She lies. “By the way, mom went out to run a few errands… she’ll be back soon okay?” Izzie lies once again, not wanting her siblings to be hurt like the last time this situation had happened. The baby finishes his food and she walks over to the kitchen sink, washing the container. She hears her brother abruptly shift out of the dining chair. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s what you said the last time Izzie. She didn’t come back for the entire day!” Aidan shouts, tears brimming to his eyes. Izzie notices her little sister starting to cry too and her heart couldn’t take it. The oldest of the four wanted to shout too, she wanted to scream and cry, saying about how a child shouldn’t be taking care of her three siblings all the time. No matter how much she wanted to, she just couldn’t.

“I’m sorry for last time, I just… I didn’t want you guys to be worried sick okay?” Izzie says, trying to keep her calm with Aidan. 

“Oh yeah right, stop lying to us! You never tell us what’s happening with mom Izzie, we get scared too you know!” Aidan snaps back, his voice breaking at the end of the sentence. He begins to sob loudly, hands pressed into his eyes. Izzie rushes over to her little brother and attempts to hug him but is pushed back onto the floor. “Just go away okay!” He runs down the hallway towards their room. “I wish Dad was here, he would do a much better job than you.” 

Izzie covers her mouth and tries to fight back a wave of tears that would knock all the air out of her lungs if she were to blink. She notices her little sister Mia walking over, her own face being covered in tear tracks. Mia opens her arms as wide as she could and wraps herself around Izzie, hugging her tightly. The older sister tries to prevent herself from sobbing and hugs her little sister back, kissing her face. “Mia go see what’s up with your brother… okay? Tell him we’re going to grandmas later…”

Mia nods and walks away from Izzie who stands herself up to walk over to the couch. She takes a seat and begins crying silently, clenching the fabric of her sweatpants that occasionally catch Izzie’s teardrops. She takes a deep breath and looks straight ahead of her, staring at an empty space of the wall. Even though Aidan’s word may have hurt Izzie deeply, she understands why he would say that. After their father had left the family when Izzie was a young child and Aidan was just a toddler, their mom had just given up on everything. Their father was the most loving person on this planet and would try his absolute best every day to make sure his kids were happy and healthy. Izzie never had a father figure after that and trying to fulfill the role of some guardian in her family never sat right with her. Izzie missed her father dearly and wished he was still around.

_ can i stay over for the weekend case? something came up _

A couple of minutes pass.  _ dude of course, drop by any time. my dad should be home and i guess that nausea thing was a lie… ill assume its your mom _

_ bingo. ill be seeing you later <3 _

-

After their grandma had come by to pick the kids up, Izzie was dropped off at Casey’s place. Although her grandma had insisted for Izzie to stay, she knew that there was little to no space in her small home, she just couldn’t make the place more crowded than it already is. She stands in the driveway of the Gardner home, only noticing the red pickup truck parked in front of the house. Looking at the time, she noticed that Casey wouldn't be home for another couple of hours, Coach Crowley did want an extra long practice today. Nevertheless, Izzie didn’t really have any other option. She walked up to the door and knocked, waiting for someone to answer. After a couple of seconds, Izzie noticed Casey’s dad through the window of the door and he let Izzie in.

“Oh hi… is it uh, Ozzy?” Izzie smiles at his attempt to remember her name and lets out a small laugh. “No, it’s Izzie! Yeah, Izzie. Hi Izzie.” He says, walking back to the living room where he was sorting out some bills for the family.

“Hi Mr. Gardner… thank you for letting me in.” She says, taking a seat on the couch, taking up a small amount of room, not wanting to disturb him. Izzie has never really talked to Casey’s dad until now, she didn’t want to come off as rude or intrusive.

“No worries, Casey told me what happened. Something with your mom?” Izzie nods, adjusting her position to face Doug. She notices that he takes off his glasses and walks over to the kitchen, opening the fridge. “Do you want anything to eat? We have leftovers from last night and some fruit. I’m not sure what to give… you're an athlete and all.” Doug laughs, taking out a couple of options for Izzie to choose from. 

“I’m fine really.” She remembers she hasn’t eaten anything at all. 

“I can make you a sandwich if you’d like? I’m not as good as Elsa’s cooking though…” He jokes, taking out ingredients for a sandwich. “Ham or turkey?”

A warm smile washes over Izzie’s face. “Turkey please.”

She hears the sink turn on and notices Doug washing a head of lettuce. Izzie sees him cutting up the piece of meat and carefully arranges the sandwich. He opens the spice cabinet and looks over at the condiments that are available and stare back over to Izzie. “I’m not sure if you can see what we have so come over here.” Izzie walks towards the kitchen and stares at the cabinet and notices the mayonnaise all the way at the top. She tries to reach for the bottle but fails, not even able to grab it if she stands on her toes. Doug notices and reaches the bottle for her, handing it over. “I’m not sure how much you like so here.” 

  
Izzie mutters a quiet thank you and finishes her sandwich and brings the plate over to the small circular table on the side. She sits down and starts eating, the pain in her stomach eventually being dwindled away with every bite that she takes. While eating, she notices Doug pouring a glass of iced tea for the two of them and he brings it over to the table. He takes a seat and notices how Izzie’s eyes are slightly tired, how her cheeks are slightly puffy and red. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? It looks like you’ve been crying.” Doug asks, taking a sip from his drink. Izzie takes another bite of her food before answering.

“Not sure if your wife ever told you but I have some family troubles. My mom doesn’t really behave as a mother should…” She says, her eyes slowly straying away from Doug. 

“Well, what about your dad? Is, is he there at home?” He asks and Izzie couldn’t help but cry. Her hand shifts to the back of her earring, trying to distract herself but she eventually gives in. Izzie covers her eyes with her hand and starts crying, her breathing becomes hyperventilated. “Oh, Izzie I didn’t… crap. Hey, I didn’t know, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” He says calmly

Izzie shakes her head, removing her hand away. “It’s fine, I wouldn’t expect you to know. But to answer your question… no, he isn’t at home. He left when I was really young.” She explains, wiping tears away from her face. Izzie notices the look of pity and sadness upon Doug’s face and looks away. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“No, you’re okay Izzie. I… I don’t really know what to say if I’m being honest.” He says, his fingers tapping the table. “If you wanna talk… I’m willing to listen.” Doug offers, trying to comfort Izzie.

She takes a deep breath and stares at the direction of the floor. “I never really knew why my parents separated when they always looked so happy with each other. When he left, I was still too young to understand the situation and it just caused me to build up some sort of resentment towards other kids who had fathers and my own mother.” Izzie takes a break before continuing, trying to prevent herself from crying again. “I didn’t have the best childhood and all I wanna know is why my dad left the family. He didn’t say goodbye to me or my little brother… I just woke up one day and he left. It’s selfish of me to say it but it’s not fair that I didn’t have a good childhood like my classmates… and I hate that I feel that way. I shouldn’t.” Her voice breaks at the end and she continues looking down

“Did Casey ever tell you I left when she was young too?” Izzie shoots her head up, unaware of that secret. “I guess not then… Well, I did and I regret leaving. I left because I couldn’t deal with Sam’s autism which is really messed up for me to do.” Doug dejectedly says, staring at Izzie. “I left Casey and Sam absent without a father figure for a portion of their life and every single day I wish I hadn’t done it. So when I came back, I tried my best to make sure that they knew I was always there for them. I- I would be there to attend Casey’s first track meet. I would be there when Sam first got Edison.” He says, trying to figure out a way to connect his ideas together. 

“How long did you leave for?” Izzie asks, Doug stares past her

“A while… a couple of months actually. But I wish I had said something to Casey and Sam before I left, but I didn’t. So I have a small portion of their life to make up for and well, because you never really had that chance Izzie, I’d like to make up for the time that your dad didn’t get to spend with you.” Doug says, tears falling from his face as he smiles gently at Izzie. The high schooler begins sobbing and Casey’s dad stands up from his chair, pulling up Izzie to give her a hug. “I’m not as sentimental as Elsa but I’d like you to know that you’re always welcome here. If- if you need me to… I don’t know, make dad jokes or give advice, I’ll be available.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gardner… I can’t express how grateful I am to have met you guys.” Izzie says, slowly easing out of the hug. 

“Of course Izzie, you play a big role in our lives too you know? You were Casey’s first friend at Clayton and ever since she met you, she seems so much happier. Thank you for that.”

The door opens and the two dart their heads in the direction of the door. They find Casey standing there, out of breath and she immediately drops her duffel bag by the door and runs over to hug Casey tightly. Without any hesitation, Izzie wraps her arms around Casey, burying her face into her shoulder, allowing herself to release a bit more stress and sadness she’s been bottling up. “You two looked like you just saw a dog died… what happened?” 

“I was just comforting Izzie, that’s all,” Doug says, walking back to the living room to finish up the bills. “Now go upstairs and get your mind off of all this junk.” 

The couple pulls away from each other and they share a quick kiss before heading upstairs. Casey holds Izzie’s hand tightly and drags her onto the bed, allowing her girlfriend to cuddle with her. “Everything okay Iz?” She asks, pulling Izzie closer. 

“Your dad comforted me… he was really nice about it.” She says, resting her head on Casey’s chest. 

“Seems like you’ve made a connection with everyone in this household Iz… is Edison next?” Casey jokes, trying to provoke laughter from her girlfriend. Izzie pulls her sleeves up and adjusts herself to rest her head on Casey’s thigh. The brunette follows her movement and sits up, reaching out for Izzie’s hand. “But seriously, I’m glad you’re okay… now, let me tell you what happened to Penelope today because she may or may not have accidentally tripped Coach Crowley.” 

Izzie lets out a laugh and the two of them begin talking about the incident, Casey’s hands running through Izzie’s long, soft hair. Out of the blue, Izzie raises her head to kiss Casey and lowers herself back down. “I love you Case…” she says

“I love you too Izzie.” They share another kiss and the brunette resumes her story, the Gardner family really knows how to make a girl feel safe and welcome.


	13. birthday

Sunlight barely touches the horizon when Casey wakes up, outside is still very dark. Quietly creeping through her room, the brunette starts to prepare for school early in the morning as she gently closes her drawers and tip-toes across her creaky wooden floors. On any other day, she would’ve been sleeping in, only to be startled awake by a loud ringtone that would play whenever Izzie would call her; her girlfriend is like a personal alarm clock. However, Casey wanted to do something extra special today knowing that today is a very special day for Izzie. The brunette hides it well, but her excitement is nearly about to explode from knowing that today is Izzie’s 16th birthday. She wanted to make the day extra special for her girlfriend, wanting to make it a day she would never forget. As she slips on her backpack, Casey whips out her phone and begins dialing a number.

“Hi! I’d like to place an order…”

As Casey speaks, she grabs a post-it note from the coffee table and begins writing a small note down to inform her family about her whereabouts.

_ track practice this morning bye losers _

She knows damn well it's a lie but, they’ll believe that Casey has track practice, there is a meet coming up after all. The brunette slaps the post-it note on the front door before leaving, the cold air grazing against Casey’s body.

\----

Casey’s legs begin heating up as the box of bagels rest upon her lap, at least there’s something fighting off the bitter cold. The brunette ordered a box of bagels, one of Izzie’s favorite breakfast foods and bought a small birthday card for her girlfriend too. After dropping by the bagel shop, she purchased a large bag of Twizzlers, another one of Izzie’s favorites. She begins driving to Izzie’s apartment complex and notices her cell phone ringing. Once Casey arrives at a red light, she answers her phone and groans when her mother says hi.

“Well good morning to you too honey bear.” Casey smiles as she rolls her eyes, flipping her turn signal one once her light turns green. 

“What do you want? I left a note on the door.” She groans, making another turn onto a smaller street

“You know we get notified if you have track practice in the morning, so I know it's a lie. Where are you really going?” Elsa inquires, preparing breakfast for Sam, Doug, and herself. She pours pancake batter onto the pan for a good five seconds before her daughter answers her question. 

“I’m a superhero, I fight crime early in the morning and late at night. I think right now my biggest threat is a villain called Nosy Mom.” Casey jokes around, finally arriving at the apartment complex. “I’m at Izzie’s now so bye byeee.” The brunette says, hovering her finger over the “end button” call.

“Wait tell Izzie happy birthday for me!” Elsa says before being hung up on. She smiles and shakes her head, knowing that Casey will definitely tell Izzie happy birthday. 

The brunette unbuckles her seatbelt and grabs a pencil from her backpack and begins writing a small note for her girlfriend.

_ First off, I’m older than you. Second off, happy birthday Izzie!!! You’re finally 16 which means you’re getting older which is gross. Can’t believe I’m dating an old person. On a serious note, happy fucking birthday dude, a whole freaking rotation around the sun. That’s right, I pay attention in English. _ She pauses to laugh at her own joke. _ I am so glad to have met you and I hope you know that you’re such an important person to me. _ Casey has trouble being sentimental at times. _ You make every day much more enjoyable with your smile and laugh and that weirdly competitive nature you take on during practice. You are a wonderful human being and I love you. Happy birthday Izzie. _

_Newton_

_ Casey _

_ Case _

_ Dork _

_ Any other nickname you may call me _

She seals the birthday card and once she gathers her gifts for Izzie, there’s a soft knock on the window. Casey is startled, nearly about to punch her window before she realizes that Izzie is standing by the window, staring into Casey’s car. The brunette smiles and slowly rolls down her window. The couple mutter a small greeting to one another and Izzie lowers herself down to give Casey a small kiss; she’s quick to realize the box of bagels, the red licorice, and a birthday card resting on top of the box. Izzie couldn’t help but smile and is eager to unlock the car door, her face in shock from what she sees.

“Dude, you got bagels for me! No freaking way.” She exclaims, excitedly grabbing the box like a small toddler receiving a sticker from the doctor’s office. Izzie is already dressed in her Clayton uniform, she must have dropped her siblings at their bus stop before Casey had arrived. The brunette exits the car and stands in front of her girlfriend. “You wrote me a note too? Wow Newton, didn’t know you were the sentimental type. Especially after your own birthday.”

“That’s different. Today is your birthday.” Casey blushes as Izzie opens the birthday card the brunette had just written. She watches her girlfriend’s mouth slowly form a big goofy smile as she mutters the words to herself. Izzie laughs at the small jokes Casey incorporated into the birthday card and is nearly brought to tears after reading it. “Sorry about the smudged handwriting, I just wrote it and-

She’s interrupted by Izzie placing the bagel box on the hood of the car who then pulls Casey close by her waist, hugging her tall girlfriend tightly. The brunette realizes that Izzie is crying slightly based off of her sniffling and the slight feeling of tear drops falling onto her shoulder. Casey holds Izzie as tightly she could, their hug similar to the one where Izzie had first visited the brunette’s home back when she had built a pillow fort. After a couple of moments, Izzie had slowly stopped crying and pulled herself away, wiping away the tears with her sleeve.

“I’m sorry, you’re just so sweet Casey I- it’s been a hot minute since someone has done something like this for my birthday.” She exclaims, letting out a small laugh. “My siblings woke me up with pancakes and bacon… their coffee could use a little work though.”

“Dude, you deserve the best on your birthday. And I’ll make sure not to eat any other food item you may receive during the day.” Casey says, grabbing Izzie’s gift to place back into the car. “I’ll wait for you here while you get your stuff?”

Izzie nods and runs off to her apartment to retrieve her backpack. Today was certainly already off to an amazing start.

\------

“Kind of sucks that I have to go easy on you in practice.” Casey says, releasing her hand from Izzie’s to open her locker. She receives a raised eyebrow in response from Izzie who is placing her gifts from Casey in her locker. “It’s your birthday.” The brunette clarifies, nudging her shoulder.

“I already kick your ass at practice anyway…” Izzie remarks, rolling her eyes at Casey’s comment. They close their lockers and interlace their hands once again, walking towards Izzie’s first period since the bell was about to ring, there was a bit of traffic on the way to school. By the time they arrive in front of Izzie’s math class, the bell rings and Casey quickly places a kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead; they have been warned about their PDA in previous times. The brunette continues walking to her first period, only to be aggressively pulled into Coach Crowley’s office. She realizes the entire track team is inside the office with the exception of Izzie.

“Jesus Penelope, nearly dislocated my shoulder.” Casey says, rolling her arm in circles, Penelope’s tug did kind of hurt. “Anyway, why are we all here? Not that I’m complaining, I’m down to skip my first period.” The brunette says, sitting herself down on the armrest of the couch in Crowley’s room. 

“UCLA is scouting you Casey, no way I’m letting you skip the entire first period.” Crowley says, standing from her desk. “Anyway, I’ve gathered you all here, except for Izzie, because I was planning to set up a small party during practice. I’ll have Izzie’s 6th period teacher hold her in for a bit until we’re ready.” Excited expressions grow on the track team’s face, especially Casey. They were all holding birthday gifts in their hands, many of them looking very large in size. Clayton kids are rich after all…

“Wow, Crowley surprisingly has a heart.” Casey says, raising her eyebrows in surprise. Her coach narrows her eyes, lowering her head to glare at the brunette. She closes her mouth and holds her hands up in defense. 

“What would Izzie like for her party Casey?” Penelope asks, raising her eyebrows suggestively as Casey. The brunette realizes that everyone is looking at her too, even Coach Crowley. Her confused expression confuses her own teammates. “Oh don’t act like we don’t know. Quinn has seen you and Izzie being close with each other during Chemistry. Also you two hold hands very often in the hallway.

Casey turns bright red, rubbing the back of her neck. “She probably already got her a gift… I did see the two in the car with Izzie holding a box of something.” Quinn teases, the entire track team lets out a collective “oooo.” Coach Crowley is smiling, enjoying the friendly interaction between her team, loving how close everyone is with one another. 

“God whatever, anything to stop this. I need to bleach my ears after this. Anyway, to answer your question….”

The brunette explains what the track team should set up for Izzie’s birthday, quickly trying to go through an entire list of Izzie’s interests, favorite foods, and favorite type of music under five minutes since Crowley had only given Casey a few minutes to explain the type of party that Izzie would like. Afterwards, the entire track team leaves off to their own first period with a smug smile growing on their faces. Izzie would certainly have one of the best birthdays today.

-

With a smile on their faces, the track team of Clayton rushes down the hallway into an empty classroom where Izzie’s party would be held. , wanting to quickly prepare everything for Izzie’s small surprise party. Upon their arrival, Coach Crowley is occupied taking out tables to place the gifts and foods, the smell of pizza and candy fills the air of the gym. Although she would have preferred to order more healthy options, she understood that today is a special day for Izzie and wanted to be more lenient today on the girls. She had ordered a birthday cake which would be arriving soon and told the girls to prepare the balloons and party streamers before the birthday girl arrived. The team worked at a fast pace, their running skills being used running back and forth in the classroom, the girls were having a blast decorating the place. Presents were placed on the table once Coach Crowley finished and she moved onto connecting speakers to Casey’s phone; the couple had a special playlist. After a couple of minutes, the team had finally finished decorating for Izzie’s small party. 

“Alright… will someone go get Izzie from her history class?” Crowley says and in a heartbeat, the brunette begins sprinting out of the gym to retrieve her girlfriend from class. She hears the small laughter emerging from her teammates and a smile grows on her face. She couldn’t wait for Izzie to see her small party. Although Casey had hated parties herself, she knew Izzie loved them and felt happy for her girlfriend. She opens the door to the history class.

“Oh, looks like they’re ready for you Izzie.” the history teacher says, a smile growing on his face. He waves goodbye to his two students Casey and Izzie, wishing a happy birthday to the latter of the two. They exit the classroom and Izzie realizes the small smile on Casey’s face.

“What’s up Newton? Kind of looking like a psycho with that smile…” Izzie teases as she walks side by side with Casey. She realizes the heavy breathing from Casey too and that she wasn’t in her track attire… something was going on. “Did Crowley not let the team change or what?” She says, grabbing the straps of her backpack, fiddling with them unconsciously. 

“I just have one thing to say…” Casey says, stopping their small walk back to the gymnasium. The two stare at each other for a couple of moments. Izzie anticipates Casey's comment, her eyebrows raised when the brunette looks back and forth between the long hallway and Izzie. “Race you to the gym loser.” 

With that, the brunette took off at the speed of light, sprinting down the hallway. “Oh that is so not fair I have a backpack on!” Izzie yells after her girlfriend, running down the hallway herself. The two track stars are neck and neck and Casey makes a sharp left, heading towards the empty classroom, she quickly shuts it behind her, making Izzie open the door herself. Izzie pushes the door. Izzie, who is very confused, runs after her girlfriend and when Casey enters the classroom, she closes the door behind her. Izzie rolls her eyes and enters the classroom. Her eyes start to water when she sees the banner with the words “Happy Birthday Izzie.”

“Happy 16th Izzie, you deserve this.” Coach Crowley says, opening her arms to pull Izzie into a tight embrace. She’s seen this girl progress since middle school, Crowley saw Izzie like if she were her own daughter. Izzie pulls away and hugs her other friends one by one, thanking them for setting up the party. 

“God this is… amazing guys. I don’t know what to say.” Izzie says, actually out of words to speak. Removing her backpack to place onto the floor, Izzie feels an arm sling around her shoulder, she notices that it's Penelope. 

“I have one thing to say… let’s party!” Penelope yells out and after, Coach Crowley begins playing music. Izzie goes over to the table and peeks through the food options and the gifts that her friends and Coach had given her. She feels an arm slip around her waist and a soft pair of lips press against her cheek. 

“How’s the party so far?” Casey asks, grabbing a pack of licorice and handing it over to her girlfriend. Izzie takes the licorice and starts opening the package excitedly, taking one twizzler out and taking a bit out of it. 

“Can’t believe you all managed to pull this in like 15 minutes. Mr. Miller was starting to run out of things to talk about while trying to keep me occupied…” Izzie says, offering a piece of licorice to Casey. The couple walks over to where the track team has gathered and they all begin dancing with each other to the beat of the music, there wasn’t a care in the world in this party. There were no parents or guardians with the exception of Coach Crowley who was grabbing Izzie’s cake from the main office and the classroom was filled with music blasting. 

When Coach Crowley comes back, everyone gathers around the table to see Izzie blow her candles. The cake is a simple grocery store sheet cake, big enough for the entire team to at least a couple of slices. She takes the cake out of the packaging and places 16 candles onto the chocolate cake, lighting them with the lighter. Casey stands behind Izzie, slinging an arm around her shoulders and once all the candles were lit, the team begins singing happy birthday, phones out recording the beautiful moment. The song ends with an applause and Izzie blowing out her candles, she smiles while Coach Crowley begins removing the candles. After the candles have been removed, Casey’s hand slowly creeps up to Izzie’s head and before she knows it, Izzie’s face is covered in frosting and small pieces of cake. The entire team bursts out laughing, all of them yelling at Casey. Coach Crowley rolls her eyes, going over to the corner of the room to grab the plates and utensils. 

“You really had to do that?” Izzie says, wiping her face with a napkin that Coach Crowley had given her. 

“To put in the words of Sam… ritual.” The brunette says, helping her girlfriend wipe the excess cake on her face. Casey and Izzie laugh together while the rest of the team starts eating the cake, avoiding the corner where Izzie’s face had been. The party would surely be an evening to remember for Clayton’s track team.

-

The couple arrives at the Gardner house where Casey is fully aware that another surprise party is waiting for Izzie; hopefully she had not been “partied out.” She puts the car in the park and the two walk to the front door, the lights inside had been turned off right away when they approach the door. Casey is holding a box of Izzie’s presents, Coach Crowley was kind enough to give a big cardboard box for Izzie to hold all her gifts. Izzie opens the door and is met with the Gardner family yelling “surprise,” she is met with another banner wishing Izzie a happy birthday. Casey gently places her girlfriend’s gift down by the doorway, removing her shoes too. She smiles as she watches her girlfriend being submerged in a group hug with her family members, it warms her heart. 

“I made you this Izzie.” Sam says, handing Izzie a slip of paper that looks like a comic. Casey walks over, looking at the comic herself. The title of the comic is “The Big Adventures of Little Dude, Little Sis, and Little Sis’s Girlfriend.” The brunette’s mouth drops open, realizing that Sam had really admired Izzie, he wouldn’t add just anyone to their comic series. Casey’s girlfriend is brought to tears, and hugs Sam, telling him thank you. 

“Izzie, come here Doug and I bought you something!” Elsa says, gesturing for Izzie to come into the kitchen. Casey follows her girlfriend, adoring the way that Izzie’s face is brightening up, her cheeks flushing at the sight of the dimples that formed when Izzie smiled. When the two arrive, they are met with a small package that is handed over to the black-haired girl. Izzie places the package gently onto the kitchen counter and opens the package carefully. She first notices a pack of hoop earrings, they’re gorgeous. “I always noticed how you wear those types of earrings… it took me awhile to figure out what kinds you would like.” Elsa says, her hand placed on the back of Izzie. After removing the earrings, she notices an article of clothing; it’s a red champion sweater. Izzie places the sweater down and gives Elsa and Doug another hug. “Well, I d

on’t want you heading home too late so I think it’s time for cake!” She says, retrieving a cake from the fridge. Candles are already on the cake and Izzie couldn’t help but smile. 

The Gardner family begins singing the birthday song, Izzie slowly creeping behind Casey. Once the song had finished and Izzie blew out her candles the second time this day, her own hand creeped up to Casey’s head and she got her revenge. Sam yells out in disgust, saying that he will not be eating the cake and he wishes Izzie another happy birthday before going upstairs. The family lets out a laugh as Casey washes her face right away. She turns around after, facing her girlfriend. “You still got some on the corner of your lip Newton…”

Before Izzie could wipe the frosting away, Casey licks her lips and grabs a slice of cake. “Wow, what did I do to deserve that?” She says, eating a slice of the red velvet cake that Elsa had baked. 

“Oh shut up.” Izzie laughs, not wanting to eat another slice of cake since she already had so much earlier today in her party that the track team threw. “We’ll leave in an hour?” 

She drops her slice of cake onto the kitchen counter and drags Izzie upstairs. “Then we better make the most of it.” She notices the devious smirk on Izzie’s face and widens her eyes. “Oh I did not mean that, I meant like… making out or something. We barely had time to ourselves today.” Casey stutters, Izzie enjoyed how flustered the brunette got.

“I’m just teasing you… I knew what you meant.”

The door to Casey’s bedroom slams shut.

-

The brunette is parked down the block from Izzie’s apartment, the two are exhausted from all the parties that had happened today. It was late at night and the moon was shining bright on the young couple. The moonlight shines into the car while Izzie and Casey unbuckle their seatbelt. The two retrieve the box full of birthday gifts from the back of the car. Before grabbing the box, the two hold each other close, kissing one more time before the night had ended; the breeze and night sky had reminded both of them of their first kiss. They pull away reluctantly and Izzie grabs her box. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow Newton… love you.” The two kiss once more and Izzie walks off to her apartment unit. 

Casey, a flustered mess, has a dorky smile on her face, madly in love with her girlfriend. “I love you too.”

The brunette goes back into her car, driving back home. Casey and Izzie had a day to remember.


	14. ill do anything if its with you

The Gardners are seated in the living room, impatiently waiting for Elsa who had called a family meeting. It’s the middle of night, everyone was just about to go to bed until the mother of the family had knocked on everyone’s doors, urging them to come downstairs immediately. They’re all exhausted as each person of the Gardner family had a strenuous day. Sam had another socratic seminar that nearly knocked the wind of his lungs, it took a lot of energy for him to participate frequently. Doug had an average of 24 calls over the last few days, he rarely gets anymore sleep and Casey had an extra hour of practice this week, her body was about to run out of steam. Just before the clock struck 10 P.M, Elsa walked down the stairs slowly, holding a colorful flyer in her hand.

“By the time you get down here it’s going to be midnight, hurry up!” Casey groans, grabbing a throw pillow on the couch to hold. 

“I’m sure you guys are wondering why I called you here.” Elsa says, expecting a response from her family. They all stare at her blankly, none of them saying a word. The mother of the family clears her throat. “Remember the support group from Newton high? Well, they’ve contacted me and said that they’re holding a fundraiser gala. All proceeds will be going to a charity.” 

The only person the room that looks intrigued is Doug, their children look fairly bored of the idea. “What does that have to do with us?” Casey says, her body begins sinking into the couch

“Well, I told them that we’re all going. I thought it would be a nice event to attend.” Elsa answers, sitting herself down on the armrest of the couch, letting Doug see the flyer for the event. Her husband takes a look at the flyer and passes it down to Casey. The brunette simply places it on the table and sighs.

“I guess I’ll attend, whatever it takes to get me out of this meeting.” Casey says, standing up and running back to her room. Sam follows after her, saying something about meeting with Paige tomorrow morning for a small date. Doug pats his wife on the back, informing Elsa that it would be a nice event to attend with the family. Elsa is left alone in the living room, staring at the flyer with a small smile on her face. This would be one of the first family events that the Gardner family has had in awhile.

-

On the Clayton field, the track team is warming up, stretching their muscles out to prepare for another long practice. Coach Crowley has had zero mercy on the girls this week, only allowing short breaks occasionally when she felt like it. Of course, she allows the girls to get water and catch their breath after extreme drills but with the upcoming regionals meet with the UCLA scouts, she couldn’t afford any slip-ups. Particularly, Casey couldn’t afford any slip-ups since UCLA has had their eyes on the young brunette; this certainly has had Casey stressed out.

“Newton you’ve been pushing yourself this entire week, I’m pretty sure you’re going to drop dead soon.” Izzie says, grabbing her ankle and stretching her thigh out. She’s been concerned about how hard her girlfriend has been pushing herself lately, the brunette looks like she hasn’t received sleep in weeks. 

“UCLA is going to be at this next meet, I just can’t screw this up.” Casey says. Before Izzie could talk, the brunette started babbling on again. “I could say the same for you Iz, I’ve seen you on this field late at night and early mornings. Sometimes you come knocking at my door early in the morning for a run on the weekends.”

“That’s different… I want UCLA to notice me, you’ve already been noticed. Let other kids have a turn.” Izzie teases, nudging her girlfriend who falls to the floor. “You should probably work on your balance next…” 

Casey sticks her tongue out and pushes herself up. The minute she stands up, she hears her cell phone ringing inside her duffel bag, so she walks over to answer. Coach Crowley notices and permits Casey to use her cellular device, practice hasn’t officially started anyway. The brunette looks at the Caller ID and groans when she notices it's her mother. Her thumb was about to hit the decline button until Izzie jabbed her elbow into Casey’s side, telling her to answer “the damn phone.” The brunette swatted her arm away and reluctantly answered the call.

“Hi sorry I know your in pract-

“So why did you call?” The brunette says, planting herself down on the bench. She notices Izzie trying to provoke laughter from her girlfriend, trying to embarrass her in front of Elsa. Casey fought her laughter back, a large grin slowly spreading on her face.

“You will need to buy a dress for this fundraiser. It’s formal attire only.” Casey lets out a groan, catching the attention of her teammates and coach. The brunette clears her throat and averts her eyes to the floor. “Can’t I just wear a button-up or something? Last time I wore a dress was homecoming and honestly I didn’t enjoy it.”

“Just wear that one, it looked so nice on you.”

Wanting to get out of this conversation, Casey pretends to make horrible static noises. “Sorry mom I think I’m cutting out, bad reception on the field here.”

“Case-”

The phone call ended and the brunette walked back towards her girlfriend, dramatically bending over to stretch out her hamstrings. Izzie notices the sudden exasperation that took over Casey and walks in closer to her. “What’s wrong?”

“My mom wants me to wear a stupid dress for this fundraiser gala thing. Newton High’s support club thing is hosting it.” Casey says, rolling back up slowly to let the blood rush back down to her body. “I don’t even like dresses.” The brunette says, stretching out her arms next.

“Wanna go to the mall after practice? My grandma has the kids while my mom is probably with her boyfriend. I can help you find one that you like.” Izzie says, grabbing her water bottle to drink from. 

“That would be fun. Just don’t spill your drink in the car like last time please, that was a sticky ass mess.” The brunette chuckles, she remembers the iced coffee smell that remained in her car for a couple of weeks. Izzie had been buckling her seatbelt and the lid wasn't closed tightly. When she had leaned over to lock the seatbelt in place, the lid fell off and the drink had spilled everywhere. The two only laughed about it when the event happened, it wasn’t that serious. To this day the edge of the seat still smells like iced coffee.

Coach Crowley blows the whistle, ordering the girls to run a couple laps around the field. The track team gathers around the starting line, free to start whenever they would like to. 

“Newton.” Casey darts her head towards Izzie. “Last one to finish has to pay for gas.” Before the brunette could let a word out, Izzie began running her laps. Casey’s mouth dropped open as she jogged after her girlfriend, there was no way that she would be paying that expensive gas, it’ll probably consume all her money before she could even buy a damn dress. The brunette would run a little faster to catch up with Izzie, but she would definitely be yelled at by Coach Crowley. This was going to be a long practice for the couple.

-

“I can’t believe you tripped me that last stretch.” Casey says, placing the gas nozzle into her car. She walks over to the passenger side and places her arms where the window would be, leaning in to talk with Izzie. “I would’ve had you!”

“I did not trip you!” Izzie objects, gathering the pieces of trash that has accumulated within Casey’s car from the past couple of months. “You just happened to lose your balance.” She says, handing the trash to Casey to throw away. The brunette rolls her eyes and tosses the trash in the garbage bin, removing the gas nozzle afterwards. She enters the car once again and the two start making their way to a nearby mall. 

“Can’t believe I have to wear a stupid dress to this thing.” Casey groans, turning into the parking lot of the mall. “I don’t even know anyone there!” She exclaims, following Izzie’s directions towards an empty parking space by the entrance of the mall. 

“I can come with you to that if you want.” Izzie offers, getting out of the car. The couple begin walking towards the entrance of the mall. “I’m sure it’ll be fun. Besides, it’s for a great cause! Either way, I can't wait to see rich people bid on some stuff. Maybe Penelope’s parents will be there.” Izzie laughs

They enter a store, the couple drifting towards the racks where the dresses are located. Casey and Izzie begin scanning through the dresses. Then, a memory is brought up for the brunette and unfortunately, it isn’t a good one. When Casey comes upon a silver dress, she recalls the day where her track team had taken her clothes from the dressing room, leaving the brunette to pay for such an expensive dress. Her hand clenches the velvety material, her mind occupied with that dreadful evening. Although it ended with a happy ending, the event still really hurt Casey to this day. 

“Hey, you okay Case?” Izzie softly asks, placing a hand against her girlfriend’s back. She notices how tightly the brunette is clenching the dress and the miserable expression that spread across her face. “Wow, is dress shopping really that bad for you?” 

Casey shakes her head and releases the grip from the dress. “Yes and no. It's just that, uh, last time I went shopping for a dress it didn’t really go well.” She chuckles nervously, taking a seat on a nearby bench. Izzie follows and sits next to her girlfriend, interlacing her hand with Casey’s. “It was for homecoming and I was with Sharice and the Newton track team. They told me to try on a dress like that silver one and when I did, they had taken my clothes. I was kind of forced to buy it after they left me with just the dress.” Casey explains, her voice shaking at the thought of that day. 

“Casey… I’m sorry that happened to you. I’ll never do anything like that to you okay? And I bet you looked much better than your old teammates at homecoming. As long as you didn’t go in a tweed suit.” Izzie jokes, trying to lighten the mood. Her heart is full of relief when she notices Casey laugh, knowing that she’s probably in a much better mood. “We can go eat if you’d like? To get your mind off of this.” 

“No it’s fine… god I’m so stupid for being dramatic about this. It wasn’t even traumatic.” Casey says, trying to avoid eye contact with her girlfriend. The couple catch the attention of some other customers who occasionally glance at the young couple, wondering what they could be talking about. 

“You’re not stupid, it’s okay to be like this. You did consider them your friends and it probably hurt a lot to see them betray you like that. You’re fine Casey, really.” Izzie says in a hushed voice, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation. “Look, we can go to the food court and worry about this later. We have time and besides, I know you’ve been wanting to try that new waffle place.” Izzie entices, she stands up and drags her girlfriend to exit the store. 

“Alright, I’m coming crazy.” Casey laughs. The words that Izzie had said along with her bright smile that spread across her face when she began pulling Casey to the new waffle place definitely brightened the brunette’s mood. 

As the two walked down to the food court holding each other’s hand, a certain display caught Casey’s eye. Without warning, Izzie was pulled inside a store where Casey marched towards the nearest employee to ask a question. Izzie couldn’t help but smile at the confidence the brunette exerted when the employee handed Casey the outfit, she knew that she had found her perfect outfit for the gala. Izzie also had a great dress that would match well with Casey’s outfit.

-

“Guys hurry up we don’t want to be late! I promised that we’ll arrive early to help prepare some of the decorations!” Elsa yells from downstairs, slinging a handbag over her shoulder. Doug is trying to put a watch onto his wrist and Sam is making last adjustments to his outfit, replacing the necktie with a bowtie. The only person that wasn’t downstairs was Casey and Izzie, the couple was trying to get ready.

“Newton, you still haven’t learned how to tie this thing?” Izzie says, taking ahold of the two ends of the necktie. The black-haired girl is wearing an evergreen dress, matching with the green tie of Casey’s. The brunette had found a nice three-piece suit that was within her budget, it certainly was better than any other dress. Her cheeks were bright red from noticing how close Izzie gets whenever she fixes Casey’s tie.

“The only tie I know how to make is my shoelaces and I intend for it to remain that way.” The brunette objects, placing a kiss on Izzie’s forehead to thank her for an excellent job of tying her tie. After making some final touches upon their appearances, the couple runs downstairs and greets the rest of the Gardner family, everyone’s mouth dropped open with the exception of Sam who was waving to Izzie. “What? I can be formal…” Casey says, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“No sweetie it’s just that, you look amazing honey.” Elsa says. Her eyes drift over to Izzie, looking spectacular as always, and notices the matching color between the two. The corner of her mouth perks up and when Izzie notices what Elsa was smirking about, she starts walking towards the door, telling the family that she’ll be waiting outside.

“Okay Elsa put that evil smile away before Disney casts you as Maleficent.” Casey snaps, following her girlfriend outside. Doug, Elsa, and Sam walk out as well, following the couple to the car. When the brunette opens the car door, Elsa interrupts and frantically pulls her cellphone out. 

“Wait wait! Let me take a picture of you and Izzie.” Her mother says, pushing Casey towards Izzie, trying to make them pose with each other. 

“What ever happened to not wanting to be late?” Casey says, her cheeks blushing red. “It’s not like this is our prom…” Izzie smiles at that comment, enjoying the thought of the two attending prom together with the track team. 

Elsa waves her hand in dismissal and starts focusing the camera onto the couple. “This will only take a couple of moments… now pose!” The couple doesn’t budge, their mouths only forming a reluctant smile. Casey’s mother rolls her eyes and groans. “Casey, wrap your arm around Izzie’s waist.” 

“Mom I-” Realizing that Elsa wouldn’t give up, the brunette follows her instructions, pulling Izzie closer. 

“Smile~” The photo is captured and the two teens urgently rushed into the car, feeling extremely embarrassed about the small moment that occurred just now. As the rest of the family piles into the car, Izzie notices the photo that Elsa sent pop up in Casey’s cellphone through her text messages and smiles. 

“I wonder how she’ll be at our actual prom.” Izzie says, placing her head onto Casey’s shoulder.

“I’m tempted to not attend prom because of what just happened.” Casey notices Izzie frown. “I’m kidding, we’re definitely attending.”

The Gardner family and Izzie drive off to the venue of the fundraiser gala. Tonight surely was going to be a night to remember.


	15. trouble in paradise

Izzie regularly stays over at the Gardner household, the family has become accustomed to her presence. Elsa no longer sends a query to the family group chat, spamming her immediate family with a question about who left their dirty shoes by the front door. She no longer forgets to make enough food for five people since Izzie typically stays for dinner - Doug secretly packs a portion of the dinner food for Izzie’s younger siblings. The father of the Gardner family has become regulated to seeing Izzie tag along with Casey whenever he picks her up from school, he’s also used to seeing Izzie waiting for his daughter when Doug drops Casey off at Clayton. Sam adjusted to finding Izzie sleeping on the couch whenever he arrives home, Casey is typically sitting right next to her. The young male is used to Izzie touching Edison, he doesn’t quite mind, she seems to know how to handle reptiles. The Gardner family has been used to the couple being attached by the hip, they never seem to leave each other’s sides. 

One afternoon, the couple arrive home from school. Usually, Elsa’s ears pick up the sweet tones that come from the lovey-dovey couple, their voices honeyed and mellow. Unfortunately, she had to deal with piercing screams and accusatory tones coming from the couple. Their footsteps were heavier and the way their bodies were being carried appeared to be tense. Elsa couldn’t quite hear their argument exactly, she only witnessed the fingers being pointed at one another and feet being stomped onto the ground. Before she could hear their argument fully, Casey’s thundering voice was cut off by a door slam. Arriving at the foyer, she finds the brunette standing there alone, hands clenched into a fist and her eyes glossed over.

“Honey what happened with you two?” Elsa calmly asks, reaching out for her daughter’s arm. Her arm retracts when Casey aggressively pulls her arm away, based off how hard the arm was pulled, she probably could’ve dislocated her shoulder. 

“It’s none of your business!” The brunette snaps, running upstairs towards her room. Some paintings on the stairwell from how hard Casey’s bedroom door slammed shut, Elsa flinched as well. Wanting to know what the problem was with her daughter, she approaches her room and slowly opens the door. Casey is already out of her school uniform and in house clothing, her cheeks are wet from the tears pouring rapidly from her eyes.

“Do you wanna talk about what happened?” Her mother offers, staying in the doorway of Casey’s room, she doesn’t want her daughter to feel too pressured; Elsa learned that pressuring Casey doesn’t work through the hard way. In response the brunette only walks up to her mother and pushes the door closed. Pressing her ear against the door, muffled sobs are heard and it shatters Elsa’s heart. 

Knowing that her daughter will probably not say a word, she makes her way downstairs and tries to continue with her every day routine. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, Elsa bends down and her hands only clutch the air; Izzie had always left her shoes by the bottom of the stairwell. Ignoring what she had done, she walks towards the kitchen and pulls out the ingredients for a sandwich and unconsciously makes two. When she realizes her mistake, Elsa decides to save the other one for Samuel. 

She surely isn’t used to Izzie being gone.

-

“Casey, are you up yet? I don’t want you being late.” Doug says, adjusting his EMT uniform as he opens the door to his daughter’s room. Instead of the brunette being up on her phone, smiling at whatever strand of texts that came from Izzie, she was sitting on her bed with a gloomy expression on her face. Being an EMT, she recognizes the puffiness of her face is a result from frequent crying. “You okay?” 

“I’m just tired.” Casey says, it was almost too defensive. She grabs her backpack and walks out the room, pushing her dad aside. Doug felt concerned about her daughter’s sudden change of behavior, worried about the unknown force that has taken away Casey’s sarcastic attitude in the morning and replaced it with an upset, fragile ghoul. When Doug enters the car, Casey is in the back rather than the passenger seat. He didn’t want to pry anymore.

“Here’s the rotisserie chicken from last night, Izzie wasn’t here so you can give it to her when you see her.” Casey reaches for the tupperware and doesn’t hold the case securely. She places the container on the floor between her feet, at least there’s some sort of sign within her to show that she cares. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? You usually sit up here with me.” Doug says, making his way towards Clayton. He’s glad that he decided to drive Casey this morning, she seems as if she doesn’t have fast enough reactions this morning. 

Casey shifts in her seat and looks towards the window. “I’m fine.”

The rest of the drive to school is done in silence. No laughs come from Casey because she received a text from Izzie, no teasing that came from Doug because he has never seen his daughter extremely flustered, it was just dead air. There was an occasional sniffing that came from the brunette, Doug for sure knew it was because of crying. When the two arrive at the school, there’s no Izzie waiting by the entrance. “Hey where’s-”

He’s cut off by his daughter leaving the car abruptly with no farewell. 

Doug notices the absence of Izzie when he comes back to pick the two up. There was certainly something going on between the couple. 

-

Sam arrives home with a little skip in his walk, eager to give his gift to Izzie. It was a plushie of a tortoise that he bought from the aquarium when he last visited Stumpy the penguin. He had stopped by a couple days ago when Denton was on its spring break, Sam had some time to spare. The tortoise still remained in its gift bag, the tag still attached. There was a gift receipt with the plushie just in case Izzie would like to exchange the plushie for something else, Sam was always prepared for any scenario. When he arrived home, there were no dirty white sneakers to shove away. There were no sounds of light laughter coming from the living room, no dirty plates on the coffee table, no Izzie. His face contorts into a confused expression and wonders where his friend is. He walks upstairs.

“Casey, where’s Izzie? I was going to give her a gift.” Sam says, walking into Casey’s room with zero warning given. He finds his little sister reading a math textbook and when the brunette notices him, she simply shrugs her shoulders. Sam notices the bags under the brunette’s eyes, she has been crying again. “Can you give this to her then if you won’t answer me?”   
  


“I don’t think Izzie wants to exactly speak to me right now Sam.” Casey utters, her teeth grinding against each other. Her temper only boils over when Sam keeps persisting with the annoying sound of the gift bag shifting around constantly. 

“Are you guys fighting? You can’t be serious! Izzie was my friend and you can’t just stop talking to her, that’s not fair to me!” Sam complains, dropping the gift bag to the floor as he uses his hands to gesture while talking. Yet, when he notices his little sister break out into a sob, he regrets his decision of raising his voice at her.

Casey has had enough. “Don’t you dare make this about yourself Sam! God, don’t you know I’m hurting too?” She takes a breath. “I’m hurting too.” The brunette croaks, her voice breaking. Her legs pull in against her chest and Casey wraps her arms around her legs, hugging herself tightly. Sam realized that his younger sister was hurting too, she was hurting more than he was. Izzie is Casey’s girlfriend and he needed to respect that. Sam walks over to the bed and sits down next to his sister.

“What’re you guys fighting about? Paige says it’s important to have communication in a relationship. Maybe if you guys can talk about it…”

Casey bites her bottom lip and turns her head away from Sam, not wanting to face him. She didn’t want to be seen completely vulnerable again with her puffy face and bloodshot eyes. So, with a deep breath, the brunette begins explaining everything.

-

“Don’t pull that type of shit around my family Newton, you know I don’t like it.” Izzie snaps when the two slam their lockers shut in the locker room. The night before, Casey was over at Izzie when her mom was there and tried to kiss her in the living room where anyone could see them. The brunette’s heart hurt when Izzie pulled away and scooted to the other side of the couch. 

“What’s the problem with me kissing you? I thought you said you were done being weird. Clearly you’re not.” Casey objects, storming towards the student parking lot. She couldn’t even look her girlfriend in the eyes or even go as far to holding her hand because it appears that the two are at that stage of their relationship once again.

“I just don’t want my mom to find out Casey, simple as that.” Izzie says, opening the car door for herself to enter the brunette’s car. “God it’s like explaining physics to a 3 year old.”

“So what, you’re saying I’m immature about all this now?” Casey says, trying not to let her temper affect her driving. Even if the two may be fighting, the brunette didn’t want to put anyone’s lives in danger from reckless driving.

“Yes. Yes you are. You can’t leave this fucking thing alone! What’s so hard to understand that I don’t want my mom about us?” Izzie says, her voice now being raised. The two are basically yelling at one another.

“Your cousin can find out about us. Your siblings can know about us, but not your mom? Dude come on, basically your entire family knows your gay!” Casey yells, pulling into the driveway of her house. The two exit the car still yelling at one another.

“Jesus christ Casey get your head out of your ass!” Izzie says, entering the Gardner household, she doesn’t take off her shoes. “I don’t want my fucking mom to know, get that into your head!”

Case places her hands on her head, running them through her hair. “Why not Izzie? Just tell me why!” 

“You know what I’m done having this conversation with you.” Izzie says, turning on her heel. 

The brunette realizes what had just happened. “Wait Izzie I-”

Izzie’s breathing becomes labored and her eyes become teary. Through her anger and rage, she couldn’t say what she wanted to say. If she had just said it, the entire argument could’ve been avoided. Instead of running back in, trying to explain the situation to Casey in a calm manner, Izzie runs. Casey probably didn’t want to talk to her anyway.

-

It’s the middle of the night and even when the couple are arguing, Casey still expects the “good night” message from Izzie - even if it’s been a couple of days since the pair has spoken to each other. In the dark room is the blaring white light coming from the brunette’s phone, Casey’s thumb hovering over the call option next to Izzie’s name. The fighting has been painful for the two of them, it’s been excruciating for the two to avoid one another. In chemistry their seats are farther apart and they don’t even talk with one another when the teacher assigns partnerwork. No matter how much the two wanted to talk with each other, they both thought that their partner probably didn’t want to talk with them anyway. It was a long cycle of no talking, just admiring from afar not saying what needed to be said. Just as Casey put her phone down, there’s a small knock on the door. The brunette covers her face with her comforter, trying to pretend to be asleep. Her eyes are closed shut when the door creaks open and her body stiffens. When footsteps approach her bed, she nearly stops herself from breathing.

“I know you’re up… you get like this when you don’t want people to know you’re awake.”

Casey shoots up when she realizes that it’s her girlfriend. She notices that Izzie is in her sleeping attire, one of Casey’s sweatshirts and a pair of shorts; she must’ve left for her grandmas in the evening. The two stare at each other for a bit before Casey goes up to the door, closing it so her family members wouldn’t hear the conversation between the two. “How did you get in?”

“Sam called me and got Paige to drive me here. It was an awkward drive here.” Izzie nervously laughs 

Casey averts her eyes away from Izzie. “Yeah, I’d imagine.”

“I’m sorry.” Izzie says, tears already rolling out of her eyes before anything had happened, that just shows the amount of regret and guilt from the argument.

Casey shakes her head and goes onto her bed, gesturing for Izzie to sit down. “No dude, I’m sorry. I was an asshole and I sometimes forget that you and your mom don’t have the best relationship.” The brunette admits, knowing that this argument was solely her fault because Casey, being the stubborn mule she is, wouldn’t back down.

“I should’ve told you from the beginning, but I just never got the chance.” Izzie says, looking down at her lap, watching how her tears dropped onto the sweatshirt that was too oversized for her. She notices a pair of hands reach for hers, almost instantly their fingers interlace with one another and Izzie couldn’t help but smile. 

“Now’s the chance Iz.” Casey says softly, waiting for Izzie’s comment.

“My mom doesn’t exactly, know that I’m gay. Mainly because she’s against that type of thing. I just, I’m afraid of what’s going to happen if I ever tell her or she finds out. I know that my cousin or siblings are not that fucked up to tell my mom, so that’s why I allowed them to know.” Izzie utters, her hands slowly gripping Casey’s tighter as she tells the truth about why she doesn’t want her mom to discover Izzie’s relationship with the brunette. “I’m sorry I’ve never told you at first Casey, I’m so sorry.”

When she looks up, Casey moves closer to her girlfriend and wraps her arms protectively, planting a small kiss on Izzie’s forehead. “It’s okay Iz, I understand. It’s okay… it’s not your fault.” The two sit in each other’s embrace for a bit, allowing their sniffling to calm down, trying to let their voices return into something less croaky. “I promise, if your mom ever does find out, I’ll be here for you and your siblings. I’m sorry that you have to deal with this Iz.” She plants a kiss on her forehead and her head. “I’m sorry.” She mutters into her hair, not wanting to let go of her girlfriend.

Izzie adjusts her head and faces herself towards Casey. She smiles and her hands slowly drift towards the brunette’s face, her hands cupping her cheeks. Izzie’s thumbs wipe away the remaining tears that had slowly escaped from Casey’s eyes and the couple couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle. “I love you idiot.” Izzie says, her face slowly leaning in.

Casey could feel the warmth of Izzie’s breath while her own hands drifted towards Izzie’s waist where they planted themselves. “I love you more.” 

The two share a small kiss and continue peppering each other’s faces in kisses, there was much loss time to make up for.

After a couple of minutes, the couple are underneath Casey’s comforter, Izzie nuzzled into Casey’s chest. Her arms are pressed against her chest while the brunette’s arms are loosely wrapped around Izzie’s body. Their legs are intertwined with each other and the couple are finally getting a good night’s sleep after many nights spent crying, staring at their phones anticipating a text from the other. Although their faces are still quite fresh from the tears that were shed, Casey and Izzie still managed to pull through, being closer than ever. The couple never splits apart from their cuddling position throughout the night.

-

In the morning, Sam enters his sister’s room and finds the two cuddling with each other, Izzie’s face barely visible since it burrowed its way into Casey’s chest. He smiles at the calm sight of the two, happy that Casey and Izzie are no longer fighting. Before leaving for Denton, he makes sure to leave the plushie tortoise for Izzie by the foot of Casey’s bed. 

Doug notices that Casey is back to staring at her phone all happily and Izzie is back in his car, the couple dorkily smiling at each other through the car’s rear-view mirror. By the time the school day has ended, Casey returns home. Elsa looks towards the door and notices the couple walking into the house together holding hands, smiling at each other like crazy. She's delighted to see the dirty pair of white converse by the stairwell and is happy to return to making more than one sandwich. When Sam arrives, he is happy to see the couch being occupied by the couple, even if he was wanting to watch the new ocean documentary in the living room. The Gardner family and Izzie have returned to their daily routine, things have finally gone back to normal.

Izzie surely has made an impact on the Gardner family.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on Tumblr @charmingcentry


End file.
